The E2 story continues. There has been major progress in identifying the role of de novo mutations in infantile spasms and other epileptic encephalopathies. Over the last two years, more than 20 new genes for epileptic encephalopathies were discovered and we have good evidence suggesting that de novo mutations play a major role in these disorders. Moreover, we have gotten a good sense on how complicated it can be to call a de novo mutation pathogenic given the flood of rare genetic variants in the human genome. However, de novo mutations are not what we think about clinically when assessing a patient with new-onset epileptic encephalopathy. In a clinical setting, we are often concerned about underlying metabolic disorders, many of which are recessive. Accordingly, we felt that the next task of the E2 consortium was to assess the role of inherited variants in epileptic encephalopathies. Just to tell you in advance, it is not as easy as it sounds.
Tag Archives: pyridoxal phosphate
Hidden neurometabolic disorders – the expanding spectrum of PNPO deficiency
Pyridoxal 5’-phosphate (PLP). PNPO deficiency is a rare neurometabolic disease that presents with severe neonatal epilepsy responsive to pyridoxal phosphate. While the classical clinical presentation is well described, there might be milder versions of this potentially treatable neurometabolic disease that have not been recognized so far. In a recent publication in Brain, the phenotypic spectrum of PNPO deficiency is revisited. In addition to the classical neonatal phenotype, the authors identify patients with later onset and atypical response to pyridoxal phosphate. In addition, they identify a rare, potentially causative PNPO variant that probably gets stuck in most exome filtering pipelines. Continue reading
Treatable causes of intellectual disability and epilepsy that you don’t want to miss
Think metabolic. We have discussed de novo mutations as a cause of epileptic encephalopathies repeatedly on our blog. While there is emerging evidence that de novo mutations in established genes such as SCN1A or CDKL5 or novel genes including GNAO1 or CHD2 are a major cause of genetic morbidity in patients with epileptic encephalopathies, investigations for de novo mutations are not the immediate knee-jerk reaction in clinical practice. In fact, if a child presents with an epileptic encephalopathy, excluding inborn errors of metabolism (IEM) takes priority. While metabolic causes of epileptic encephalopathies are rare, they need to be excluded as some of these conditions are treatable. In a recent review in Molecular Genetics and Metabolism, van Karnebeek and colleagues review the 89 causes of intellectual disability that are potentially treatable. Many of these conditions also present with epilepsy. They present an updated diagnostic algorithm and provide an online resource for these conditions – in a nutshell, there is an app for that. Continue reading
