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Clinical pattern, mutations and in vitro residual activity in 33 patients with severe 5, 10 methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) deficiency.


ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Severe methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) deficiency is a rare inborn defect disturbing the remethylation of homocysteine to methionine (<200 reported cases). This retrospective study evaluates clinical, biochemical genetic and in vitro enzymatic data in a cohort of 33 patients. METHODS:Clinical, biochemical and treatment data was obtained from physicians by using a questionnaire. MTHFR activity was measured in primary fibroblasts; genomic DNA was extracted from cultured fibroblasts. RESULTS:Thirty-three patients (mean age at follow-up 11.4 years; four deceased; median age at first presentation 5 weeks; 17 females) were included. Patients with very low (<1.5%) mean control values of enzyme activity (n?=?14) presented earlier and with a pattern of feeding problems, encephalopathy, muscular hypotonia, neurocognitive impairment, apnoea, hydrocephalus, microcephaly and epilepsy. Patients with higher (>1.7-34.8%) residual enzyme activity had mainly psychiatric symptoms, mental retardation, myelopathy, ataxia and spasticity. Treatment with various combinations of betaine, methionine, folate and cobalamin improved the biochemical and clinical phenotype. During the disease course, patients with very low enzyme activity showed a progression of feeding problems, neurological symptoms, mental retardation, and psychiatric disease while in patients with higher residual enzyme activity, myelopathy, ataxia and spasticity increased. All other symptoms remained stable or improved in both groups upon treatment as did brain imaging in some cases. No clear genotype-phenotype correlation was obvious. DISCUSSION:MTHFR deficiency is a severe disease primarily affecting the central nervous system. Age at presentation and clinical pattern are correlated with residual enzyme activity. Treatment alleviates biochemical abnormalities and clinical symptoms partially.

SUBMITTER: Huemer M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6551224 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Clinical pattern, mutations and in vitro residual activity in 33 patients with severe 5, 10 methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) deficiency.

Huemer Martina M   Mulder-Bleile Regina R   Burda Patricie P   Froese D Sean DS   Suormala Terttu T   Zeev Bruria Ben BB   Chinnery Patrick F PF   Dionisi-Vici Carlo C   Dobbelaere Dries D   Gökcay Gülden G   Demirkol Mübeccel M   Häberle Johannes J   Lossos Alexander A   Mengel Eugen E   Morris Andrew A AA   Niezen-Koning Klary E KE   Plecko Barbara B   Parini Rossella R   Rokicki Dariusz D   Schiff Manuel M   Schimmel Mareike M   Sewell Adrian C AC   Sperl Wolfgang W   Spiekerkoetter Ute U   Steinmann Beat B   Taddeucci Grazia G   Trejo-Gabriel-Galán Jose M JM   Trefz Friedrich F   Tsuji Megumi M   Vilaseca María Antònia MA   von Kleist-Retzow Jürgen-Christoph JC   Walker Valerie V   Zeman Jiri J   Zeman Jiri J   Baumgartner Matthias R MR   Fowler Brian B  

Journal of inherited metabolic disease 20150530 1


<h4>Background</h4>Severe methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) deficiency is a rare inborn defect disturbing the remethylation of homocysteine to methionine (<200 reported cases). This retrospective study evaluates clinical, biochemical genetic and in vitro enzymatic data in a cohort of 33 patients.<h4>Methods</h4>Clinical, biochemical and treatment data was obtained from physicians by using a questionnaire. MTHFR activity was measured in primary fibroblasts; genomic DNA was extracted fro  ...[more]

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