Aldehyde dehydrogenase 7A1 (ALDH7A1) catalyzes a step of lysine catabolism. Certain missense mutations in the ALDH7A1 gene cause pyridoxine dependent epilepsy (PDE), a rare autosomal neurometabolic disorder with recessive inheritance that affects almost 1:65,000 live births and is classically characterized by recurrent seizures from the neonatal period. We report a biochemical, structural, and computational study of two novel ALDH7A1 missense mutations that were identified in a child with rare recurrent seizures from the third month of life.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAcute Viral Bronchiolitis is one of the leading causes of hospitalization in the first 12-24 months of life. International guidelines on the management of bronchiolitis broadly agree in recommending a minimal therapeutic approach, not recommending the use of bronchodilators. Guidelines, generally, consider bronchiolitis as a "unique disease" and this runs the risk of not administering therapy in some patients who could benefit from the use of bronchodilators, for instance, in those who will develop asthma later in their life and face first episode in the age of bronchiolitis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMetabolic bone disease (MBD) is a possible complication of intestinal failure (IF), with a multi-factorial pathogenesis. The reduction of bone density (BMD) may be radiologically evident before manifestation of clinical signs (bone pain, vertebral compression, and fractures). Diagnosis relies on dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Liver injury during SARS-CoV-2 infection has a multifactorial pathogenesis and it is frequent in pediatric cases.
Case Presentation: We report a case with severe hypertransaminasemia associated with mild SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Conclusion: This highlights the potential need of hepatic function evaluation during acute illness and follow-up even in non-critically ill children with COVID-19.
An ectopic thyroid located at the base of the tongue is a rare entity, resulting from early developmental defects of thyroid gland embryogenesis during its descent from the foramen caecum to its normal eutopic pretracheal site. This condition is the main cause of congenital primary hypothyroidism, even though signs and symptoms of thyroid dysfunction may also appear later in childhood. Lingual thyroid may sometimes present with symptoms of respiratory obstruction or feeding difficulties.
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