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Vitamin B(12) deficiency in infants often produces haematological and neurological deficits, including macrocytic anaemia, neurodevelopmental delay or regression, irritability, weakness, hypotonia, ataxia, apathy, tremor, and seizures. The diagnosis of vitamin B(12) deficiency can be difficult when the typical macrocytic anaemia is absent. We report the case of a 10-month-old female diagnosed with West syndrome associated with vitamin B(12) deficiency but without macrocytic anaemia caused by nutritional inadequacy in the mother. The patient's motor skills and cognitive development were normal until she was 9 months old, when she began to exhibit a series of sudden flexions of the head, trunk, arms, and legs. She was exclusively breast-fed and had received no vitamin supplementation. Results of electroencephalography (EEG) indicated modified hypsarrhythmia and the patient was diagnosed as having West syndrome. Synthetic adrenocorticotropic hormone was administered and although her spasms had resolved, the patient remained apathic and could not sit without assistance. EEG results indicated generalized slow activity. After she was diagnosed as having vitamin B(12) deficiency, parenteral treatment with vitamin B(12) was initiated. Her symptoms resolved and EEG was completely normal. When she was 20 months old she exhibited an age-appropriate developmental and neurological profile. To our knowledge, this is the first report of West syndrome as a presenting symptom of vitamin B(12) deficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis is an immune-mediated inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system, characterized by demyelination. Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis predominantly involves the white matter of the brain and spinal cord, and often follows upper respiratory tract infection. We describe a case of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis associated with the influenza A (H1N1) virus. The H1N1 virus usually causes febrile respiratory signs, e.g., fever, cough, and sore throat. Although these signs exhibit a self-limited course, the frequencies of severe complications and death are increasing. To date, only a few reports of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis secondary to the H1N1 virus have been published. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Congenital disorders of glycosylation (CDG) arise from pathogenic mutations in over 100 genes leading to impaired protein or lipid glycosylation. ALG1 encodes a β1,4 mannosyltransferase that catalyzes the addition of the first of nine mannose moieties to form a dolichol-lipid linked oligosaccharide intermediate required for proper N-linked glycosylation. ALG1 mutations cause a rare autosomal recessive disorder termed ALG1-CDG. To date 13 mutations in 18 patients from 14 families have been described with varying degrees of clinical severity. We identified and characterized 39 previously unreported cases of ALG1-CDG from 32 families and add 26 new mutations. Pathogenicity of each mutation was confirmed based on its inability to rescue impaired growth or hypoglycosylation of a standard biomarker in an alg1-deficient yeast strain. Using this approach we could not establish a rank order comparison of biomarker glycosylation and patient phenotype, but we identified mutations with a lethal outcome in the first two years of life. The recently identified protein-linked xeno-tetrasaccharide biomarker, NeuAc-Gal-GlcNAc2 , was seen in all 27 patients tested. Our study triples the number of known patients and expands the molecular and clinical correlates of this disorder., (© 2016 WILEY PERIODICALS, INC.)

To determine the prevalence of celiac disease in children and adolescents with nonsyndromic intellectual disability, we investigated serum levels of tissue transglutaminase antibody and total IgA from 232 children with nonsyndromic intellectual disability and in a healthy control group of 239 children. Study participants who were positive for tissue transglutaminase antibody underwent a duodenal biopsy. A total of 3 patients in the nonsyndromic intellectual disability group (5.45%) and 1 in the control group (0.41%) had positive serum tissue transglutaminase antibody (P > .05). Duodenal biopsy confirmed celiac disease in only 1 patient who had nonsyndromic intellectual disability. In this present study, children with nonsyndromic intellectual disability did not exhibit a higher celiac disease prevalence rate compared with healthy controls. Therefore, we suggest that screening test for celiac disease should not be necessary as a part of the management of mild and moderate nonsyndromic intellectual disability. However, cases of severe nonsyndromic intellectual disability could be examined for celiac disease., (© The Author(s) 2015.)

This study compared superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) alleles in 97 consecutive children and adolescents with migraine to 96 healthy children and adolescents. Isolated genomic DNA was used as a template for SOD1 (35 A/C), SOD2 16 C/T, and CAT2 [(-262 C/T) and (-21 A/T)] allele genotyping. The SOD2 16 C/T genotype and C allele frequency differed significantly between controls and migraine (P = .047; P = .038). CAT -21 AA genotype and A allele frequency were significantly higher in both migraine with aura patients (P = .013; P = .004) and migraine without aura patients (P = .003; P = .001) compared to controls. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of differences in SOD and CAT genotypes between pediatric migraine patients and age-matched controls. Further studies on the functional implications of these genetic variants on neural antioxidant capacity and the use of antioxidant modulators for migraine treatment are warranted., (© The Author(s) 2015.)

Objective: Hyperventilation induces absence seizures in children with absence epilepsy, and routine electroencephalography studies include three minutes of hyperventilation. We studied the duration of hyperventilation required to provoke a first absence seizure to determine whether three minutes of the procedure are indeed necessary., Methods: Electroencephalography records of children who experienced absence seizures during hyperventilation were reviewed. The time from hyperventilation onset to a first and further seizure(s) was measured, and the occurrence of absences during the posthyperventilation phase was also noted., Results: Sixty-two studies were evaluated. Mean time from hyperventilation onset to a first absence was 52 seconds (median 32 seconds). The vast majority (85.5%) had an absence within 90 seconds. Most (68%) children sustained a single event. All eight children with posthyperventilation seizures had experienced at least one event during hyperventilation., Conclusions: Our findings suggest that current guidelines for routine pediatric electroencephalography recording requiring three minutes of hyperventilation may not be clinically necessary. We found that the vast majority of children referred for suspected absence seizures experience a seizure less than 90 seconds after hyperventilation onset, and even more so by 120 seconds. Hence, a larger prospective study is warranted to establish more accurate hyperventilation duration parameters. We also suggest that once an absence seizure has been recorded at any time during hyperventilation, this procedure could be stopped, thus reducing the amount of discomfort for the child., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

There is no information about the role of transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1) in the pathogenesis of pediatric migraine. This study included 100 consecutive children and adolescents in whom migraine was diagnosed and 88 healthy children and adolescents. The isolated genomic DNA was used as a template for TGFβ-1 (-800G/A, -509C/T, 869T/C [codon 10] and 915G/C [codon 25]) genotyping. The allelic frequency of 509C/T was significantly different between control and migraine without aura patients (P = .04). Codon 10 C/T genotypic and C10 C allelic frequency of TGF-β1 polymorphisms were significantly higher in migraine and migraine without aura patients versus healthy controls (P = .00; P = .00). To our knowledge, this is the first report dealing with the relationship between TGF-β1 genotype and migraine in the pediatric age group. Further studies related to this subject are needed, along with a search for new therapeutic agents with anti-inflammatory properties., (© The Author(s) 2014.)

Deoxyguanosine kinase (DGUOK) gene mutations have been identified in the hepatocerebral form of mitochondrial DNA depletion syndromes. We report here clinical and laboratory features of 3 infants with novel DGUOK gene mutations, c.130G>A (Glu44Lys), c.493G>A (Glu165Lys), and c.707+3_6delTAAG., (© The Author(s) 2014.)