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Objective: In 2022, arterioectatic spinal angiopathy (AESA) of childhood was reported as a fatal, progressive, multi-segment myelopathy associated with a unique form of non-inflammatory spinal angiopathy involving diffuse dilatation of the anterior spinal artery and cord congestion in children. In this study, we present four more cases of AESA, using early and long-term conventional imaging and flat detector computed tomography angiography (FDCTA) imaging to assess the probability of disease regression and prevent unnecessary interventions., Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical and radiological findings of four patients with AESA seen in two neuroradiology departments between 2014 and 2023., Results: The study included three boys and one girl. Two of the boys were siblings. Although the clinical and radiological presentation in the early stages of the clinical course overlapped the definition of AESA, the clinical course was more benign in three of the cases. The clinical courses of the two siblings with monosegmental cord involvement and largely reversible radiological findings suggest that some of the features in the initial definition of the disease cannot be standardized for all patients. The siblings had a mutation of the NDUFS gene, which is involved in mitochondrial function and clinical-radiological reversibility in these patients., Conclusion: Many mitochondrial diseases, such as this NDUFS mutation, present with myelopathy, and mitochondrial diseases can sometimes show spontaneous recovery. It is crucial to identify other genetic mutations or environmental factors that trigger the accompanying vascular ectatic findings in AESA in larger multicenter studies to prevent its potential lethal course and possible unnecessary surgical-endovascular interventions., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany.)

Aim: Type 1 diabetes (T1D) and its complications are known to be associated with oxidative stress. Pteridine derivatives and indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) activity can be used as biomarkers in the evaluation of oxidative stress. In this study, our aim is to compare the concentrations of serum and urinary pteridine derivatives, as well as serum IDO activity, in children and adolescents diagnosed with T1D and those in a healthy control group., Method: A cross-sectional study was performed and included 93 patients with T1D and 71 healthy children. Serum and urine biopterin, neopterin, monapterin, pterin, isoxanthopterin, and pterin-6-carboxylic acid (6PTC) and serum tryptophan and kynurenine levels were analyzed and compared with healthy controls. High-performance liquid chromatography was used for the analysis of pteridine derivatives, tryptophan, and kynurenine. Xanthine oxidase (XO) activity, a marker of oxidative stress, was defined by measurement of serum and urine isoxanthopterin. As an indicator of indolamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) activity, the ratio of serum kynurenine/tryptophan was used., Results: Serum isoxanthopterin and tryptophan concentrations were increased, and serum 6PTC concentration was decreased in children with T1D (p=0.01, p=0.021, p<0.001, respectively). In children with T1D, IDO activity was not different from healthy controls (p>0.05). Serum neopterin level and duration of diabetes were weakly correlated (p=0.045, r=0.209); urine neopterin/creatinine and isoxanthopterin/creatinine levels were weakly correlated with HbA1c levels (p=0.005, r=0.305; p=0.021, r=0.249, respectively). Urine pterin/creatinine level negatively correlated with body mass index-SDS. (p=0.015, r=-0.208)., Conclusion: We found for the first time that isoxanthopterin levels increased and 6PTC levels decreased in children and adolescents with T1D. Elevated isoxanthopterin levels suggest that the XO activity is increased in TID. Increased XO activity may be an indicator of vascular complications reflecting T1D-related endothelial dysfunction., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Fabry disease is characterized by the accumulation of globotriaosylceramide. Substrate accumulation in lysosomes is thought to trigger an inflammatory response and is responsible for progressive organ damage through the induction of autoimmunity. The levels of pteridine and kynurenine pathway metabolites increase when immune activation is observed and are employed to monitor several diseases and determine prognosis., Aims: To elucidate the effects of immune activation on the pathophysiology of Fabry disease and to investigate the potential utility of pteridine and kynurenine metabolites., Study Design: A prospective case-control study., Methods: In this study, 33 patients with Fabry disease and 33 age-and sex-matched healthy controls were included. Blood pteridine and kynurenine metabolites were studied in both groups. Organ involvement in Fabry disease and its correlation with the pteridine and kynurenine pathways were also investigated., Results: The patients’ neopterin and biopterin levels and the tryptophan/kynurenine ratio were statistically higher than those of the healthy control group ( p < 0.05). A statistically significant association was found between neopterin levels and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, cardiac arrhythmias, and GFR values ( p = 0.044, p = 0.021, and p = 0.030, respectively), tryptophan and corneal verticillate, hearing loss and tinnitus ( p = 0.010, p = 0.009 and p = 0.046, respectively), and kynurenine levels and valvular heart disease ( p = 0.020)., Conclusion: From the onset of the disease, patients with Fabry disease exhibited elevated levels of inflammation and immune activation. Furthermore, inflammation and immune activation markers can be used as early disease biomarkers., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: No conflict of interest was declared by the authors.

Objectives: This study aims to determine the prevalence of Fabry disease (FD) among patients with juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)., Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 76 juvenile SLE patients (12 males; 64 females; mean age 16±3.3 years; range, 8 to 23.5 years) who were diagnosed according to 1997 update of the 1982 American College of Rheumatology revised criteria for classification of SLE. Since the majority of patients were female, alpha-galactosidase A gene was investigated for mutations resulting in FD. Lysosomal accumulation of globotriaosylsphingosine (lyso-Gb3) was further evaluated in mutation positive subjects by using dried blood spot testing., Results: Alpha-galactosidase A gene screening did not yield any positive mutation in our 74 subjects. However, a heterozygous p.D313Y mutation was found in two females. These subjects were further investigated for lyso-Gb3 levels in dried blood spot samples and the levels of lyso-Gb3 being normal lead to exclusion of FD in these two patients., Conclusion: We do not suggest routine screening of FD in patients with juvenile SLE; however, prospective studies with larger sample sizes are needed for further analysis., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest: The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article., (Copyright © 2020, Turkish League Against Rheumatism.)