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A Child With Night Blindness: Preventing Serious Symptoms of Refsum Disease.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  22156782     Owner:  NLM     Status:  Publisher    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Refsum disease is a genetic progressive neurological disorder caused by neurotoxic phytanic acid, a nutritional component patients are unable to metabolize. Symptoms include retinopathy, polyneuropathy, ataxia, and deafness. They are variable and rarely recognized before adulthood. The authors report the case of a 14-year-old girl diagnosed because of night blindness. They treated her with a phytanic acid-poor diet and extracorporeal lipid apheresis. They used different methods over a 30-month period. Thereafter, the patient was treated with diet only. Membrane filtration and heparin-induced extracorporeal low-density lipoprotein precipitation apheresis were well tolerated. Withdrawal of phytanic acid was studied quantitatively. During a 5-year period, blood phytanic acid levels decreased to a noncritical range. The patient remained free of ophthalmological and neurological progression for a total observation of 12 years. Early diagnosis and effective measures to keep the phytanic acid load low can probably prevent the serious sequelae of Refsum disease. Developing a method for newborn screening is desirable.
Authors:
Alfried Kohlschütter; René Santer; Zoltan Lukacs; Christiane Altenburg; Markus J Kemper; Klaus Rüther
Publication Detail:
Type:  JOURNAL ARTICLE     Date:  2011-12-7
Journal Detail:
Title:  Journal of child neurology     Volume:  -     ISSN:  1708-8283     ISO Abbreviation:  -     Publication Date:  2011 Dec 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2011-12-13     Completed Date:  -     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  8606714     Medline TA:  J Child Neurol     Country:  -    
Other Details:
Languages:  ENG     Pagination:  -     Citation Subset:  -    
Affiliation:
Clinic for Degenerative Brain Diseases, Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
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