The Safety of Agalsidase Alfa Enzyme Replacement Therapy in Canadian Patients with Fabry Disease Following Implementation of a Bioreactor Process.

Background And Objective: Fabry disease, an X-linked lysosomal storage disorder characterized by absent or reduced alpha-galactosidase activity, is a lifelong disease that impairs patients' quality of life. Patients with Fabry disease have a considerably shortened lifespan, with mortality being mainly due to renal failure, cardiovascular disease, or cerebrovascular disease. Enzyme replacement therapy with agalsidase alfa has been shown to attenuate the renal, cardiovascular, and neuropathic disease progression associated with Fabry disease.

Independent Registries Are Cost-Effective Tools to Provide Mandatory Postauthorization Surveillance for Orphan Medicinal Products.

Objectives: Orphan medicinal products (OMPs) often receive market authorization under conditions imposed by regulators for ongoing postauthorization surveillance (PAS) to answer questions that remain at the time of market entry. This surveillance may be provided through industry-funded registries (IFRs). Nevertheless, data in these registries may not be of sufficient quality to answer these questions and may not always be accessible for regulatory review.

Brain MRI features and scoring of leukodystrophy in adult-onset Krabbe disease.

Objective: To perform a systematic analysis and scoring of brain MRI white matter hyperintensities (WMH) in adult-onset Krabbe disease.

Methods: We retrospectively collected basic clinical data and the first available brain MRI from patients with confirmed Krabbe disease with first clinical manifestations beyond 10 years of age. Data were obtained from our reference center for lysosomal diseases (n = 6) and from contacted authors of published articles describing patients with adult-onset Krabbe disease (n = 15).

Lessons from lung transplantation: Cause for redefining the pathophysiology of pulmonary hypertension in gaucher disease.

Background: Gaucher disease type 1 (GD1) is a lysosomal storage disease rarely resulting in end stage pulmonary hypertension (PH) and interstitial lung disease. There have only been two previous case reports of patients with GD1 receiving lung transplants.

Case Presentation: We report a case of successful bilateral sequential lung transplantation in a patient with end-stage GD1-related PH.

Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Late-Onset Krabbe Disease: No Evidence of Worsening Demyelination and Axonal Loss 4 Years Post-allograft.

Background And Purpose: Late-onset adult Krabbe disease is a very rare demyelinating leukodystrophy, affecting less than 1 in a million people. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) strategies can stop the accumulation of toxic metabolites that damage myelin-producing cells. We used quantitative advanced imaging metrics to longitudinally assess the impact of HSCT on brain abnormalities in adult-onset Krabbe disease.

Phenylketonuria Scientific Review Conference: state of the science and future research needs.

New developments in the treatment and management of phenylketonuria (PKU) as well as advances in molecular testing have emerged since the National Institutes of Health 2000 PKU Consensus Statement was released. An NIH State-of-the-Science Conference was convened in 2012 to address new findings, particularly the use of the medication sapropterin to treat some individuals with PKU, and to develop a research agenda. Prior to the 2012 conference, five working groups of experts and public members met over a 1-year period.

Subcutaneous versus intraperitoneal insulin for patients with diabetes mellitus on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis: meta-analysis of non-randomized clinical trials.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is one of the leading causes of end stage renal disease. Use of intraperitoneal (IP) nsulin in diabetic patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) can restore glucose control to near normal values. The safety and efficacy of this method is unclear.

MR evidence of long T2 water in pathological white matter.

Purpose: To describe what, if any, specific long T(2)-related abnormalities occur in the white matter of subjects with either phenylketonuria (PKU) or multiple sclerosis (MS).

Materials And Methods: The 48-echo T(2) relaxation data (maximum TE = 1.12 sec) were acquired from 15 PKU subjects, 20 MS subjects, and 15 healthy volunteers.

Agalsidase alfa therapy for Fabry disease.

Fabry disease is a lysosomal storage disorder that results in neuropathic pain, progressive renal dysfunction, cardiomyopathy and stroke in affected individuals. The disease is caused by mutations in the GLA gene coding for α galactosidase A. The resulting deficiency of this enzyme causes accumulation of neutral glycosphingolipids in various tissues.

Normal-appearing white matter in patients with phenylketonuria: water content, myelin water fraction, and metabolite concentrations.

Purpose: To prospectively assess relative water content (RWC), myelin water fraction (MWF), and hydrogen 1 magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy findings in the white matter (WM) of patients with phenylketonuria (PKU).

Materials And Methods: This study was approved by the institution's investigational review board, and informed consent was obtained. T2 water relaxation data were acquired by using a 48-echo measurement in a transverse plane through the genu and splenium of the corpus callosum in 16 patients (six men, 10 women; age range, 18-40 years) with PKU and 16 age- and sex-matched control subjects.

Post-liver transplantation diabetes mellitus: an association with hepatitis C.

A retrospective study was performed on all liver transplant recipients from British Columbia from 1989 to March 2000 to determine the prevalence and predictive factors of diabetes mellitus (DM) post-liver transplantation. DM was defined as hyperglycemia requiring treatment with insulin or oral hypoglycemic agents. Patient characteristics, cause of liver disease at transplantation, and immunosuppression regimen were considered.