Congenital disorders of glycosylation: a booming chapter of pediatrics.
OBJECTIVE
The detection and identification of new congenital disorders of glycosylation continues at a rapid pace. Sine June 2003, four new congenital disorders of glycosylation have been reported, making a total of 20 diseases (on average nearly 1 disease per year since the first report in 1980; 12 of these congenital disorders of glycosylation were identified in the past 6 years).


RESULTS
Three of these newly discovered CDG are caused by defects in early steps of dolichol-linked oligosaccharide biosynthesis. Affected patients have a neurologic or a multisystem disease. The fourth new CDG is a completely new CDG type caused by a defect in an endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi shuttle protein carrying multiple glycosyltransferases and nucleotide-sugar transporters.


CONCLUSIONS
Disorders of nearly all organs and systems have been reported and continue to be reported in congenital disorders of glycosylation. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that congenital disorders of glycosylation be considered in any child with an unexplained clinical syndrome.
Department of Pediatrics, Centre for Metabolic Disease, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. jaak.jaeken@uz.kuleuven.ac.be
Jaak
J
Jaeken
Hubert
H
Carchon
D002239:Carbohydrate Metabolism, Inborn Errors / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D002648:Child; D004721:Endoplasmic Reticulum / Q000378:metabolism; D006031:Glycosylation; D016695:Glycosyltransferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006056:Golgi Apparatus / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation
D016695:Glycosyltransferases