Heterogeneous clinical spectrum of DNAJC12-deficient hyperphenylalaninemia: from attention deficit to severe dystonia and intellectual disability (Contributed by Prof. Dr. Beat Thöny)

Hyperphenylalaninemia is one of the most common inherited metabolic diseases diagnosed in the newborn screening and until now follow-up investigation included differential diagnosis of phenylketonuria (PKU) and tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) deficiency. With the description of patients with biallelic variants in co-chaperone DNAJC12 (van Spronsen et al 2017), the paradigm of hyperphenylalaninemia needs reconsideration. DNAJC12-deficient patients may present initially without any symptoms, with only mild attention deficit or with a severe intellectual disability, and need immediate and appropriate treatment (BH4, l-dopa/Carbidopa and 5-hydroxytryptophan). Thus, every newborn with hyperphenylalaninemia, in which PKU and BH4 deficiency were excluded need to be tested for DNAJC12 variants. (http://jmg.bmj.com/content/early/2017/08/09/jmedgenet-2017-104875 )

(Visited 196 times, 1 visits today)