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Pregnancy management and outcome in patients with four different tetrahydrobiopterin disorders

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Inherited Metabolic Disease

Abstract

Introduction

Inborn errors of tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) biosynthesis or recycling are a group of very rare neurometabolic diseases. Following growing awareness and improved availability of drug treatment the number of patients with BH4 disorders reaching adulthood is constantly increasing. Pregnancy care of patients with these disorders is therefore a new challenge for clinicians.

Methods

This retrospective study summarises for the first time clinical and biochemical monitoring data of 16 pregnancies in seven women with different disorders of BH4 metabolism and evaluates treatment regimens before and during pregnancy in relation to the obstetrical outcome and paediatric follow-up.

Results

Worsening of pre-existing neurological symptoms or occurrence of new symptoms during pregnancy was not observed in most of the cases. Treatment regimens remained mostly unchanged. Pregnancies were not complicated by disease-specific features. Organ abnormalities, miscarriage, prematurity, IUGR and chromosomal changes were occasionally reported, without showing any association with the standard drug treatment for BH4 deficiencies.

Conclusion

Although our data on 16 pregnancies in seven patients did not present any association of standard drug treatment with an increased rate of pregnancy complications, abnormal obstetrical or paediatric outcome, an intensive clinical and biochemical supervision by a multidisciplinary team before, during and after the pregnancy in any BH4 deficiency is essential since available data on pregnancies in patients with BH4 deficiencies is limited.

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Abbreviations

5-HIAA:

5-Hydroxyindolacetic acid

5-HTP:

5-Hydroxytryptophan

MHPG:

3-Methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol

5-MTHF:

5-Methyltetrahydrofolic acid

3-OMD:

3-Orthomethyldopa

PTPS:

6-Pyruvoyl-tetrahydrobiopterin synthase

PTPS-D:

6-Pyruvoyl-tetrahydrobiopterin synthase deficiency

ASD:

Atrial septal defect

adGTPCH:

Autosomal dominant guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase 1

adGTPCH-D:

Autosomal dominant guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase 1 deficiency

arGTPCH:

Autosomal recessive guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase 1

arGTPCH-D:

Autosomal recessive guanosine triphosphate cyclohydrolase 1 deficiency

CSF:

Cerebral spinal fluid

CNS:

Central nervous system

DHPR:

Dihydropteridine reductase

DHPR-D:

Dihydropteridine reductase deficiency

DBS:

Dried blood spot

GA:

Gestational age

GW:

Gestational week

HVA:

Homovanillic acid

HPA:

Hyperphenylalaninemia

iNTD:

International Working Group on Neurotransmitter Related Disorders

IUGR:

Intrauterine growth restriction

L-dopa:

Levodopa

LSCS:

Lower segment caesarean section

MPKU:

Maternal phenylketonuria

MPKUS:

Maternal PKU syndrome

NBS:

Newborn screening

NOS:

Nitric oxide synthase

PD:

Parkinson’s disease

Phe:

Phenylalanine

PAH:

Phenylalanine-4-hydroxylase

PKU:

Phenylketonuria

PCD:

Pterin-4 alpha-carbinolamine dehydratase

SR:

Sepiapterin reductase

SR-D:

Sepiapterin reductase deficiency

BH4 :

Tetrahydrobiopterin

TH:

Tyrosine hydroxylase

TPH:

Tryptophan hydroxylase

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dr. D. Hübschmann and Dr N. Ishaque for fruitful discussion. This study was partially supported by Dietmar Hopp Stiftung, St. Leon-Rot, Germany.

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Correspondence to O. Kuseyri.

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Conflict of interest

O. Kuseyri, A. Weissbach, N. Bruggemann, C. Klein, M. Giżewska, D. Karall, S. Scholl-Bürgi, H. Romanowska, E. Krzywińska-Zdeb, A.A. Monavari, I. Knerr, Z. Yapıcı, V. Leuzzi, and T. Opladen declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Communicated by: Francois Feillet

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Kuseyri, O., Weissbach, A., Bruggemann, N. et al. Pregnancy management and outcome in patients with four different tetrahydrobiopterin disorders. J Inherit Metab Dis 41, 849–863 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10545-018-0169-0

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