Long-term follow-up of Taiwanese Chinese patients treated early for 6-pyruvoyl-tetrahydropterin synthase deficiency.
OBJECTIVE
To report the long-term results of early initiation of treatment of 6-pyruvoyl-tetrahydropterin synthase (PTPS) deficiency.


METHODS
Between 1988 and 2000, 12 newborns with PTPS deficiency who underwent early treatment at our hospital were identified. All patients received tetrahydrobiopterin replacement in a daily dosage between approximately 2 and 4 mg/kg. The dosages of levodopa replacement were 10 to 15 mg/kg/d, which is considerably higher than the typically recommended dosages of less than 7 mg/kg/d for patients aged younger than 2 years and 8 to 10 mg/kg/d for patients aged 2 years or older. Replacement with 5-hydroxytryptophan varied widely among patients.


METHODS
Taipei Veterans General Hospital. Patients Twelve newborns.


METHODS
Treatment with tetrahydrobiopterin, levodopa, and 5-hydroxytryptophan. Main Outcome Measure IQ score.


RESULTS
The mean (SD) IQ score of our PTPS-deficient patients was 96.7 (9.7; range 86-119), which is considerably higher than previous reports of other populations of PTPS-deficient patients. All patients reached a normal IQ on high daily dosages of levodopa replacement, without developing apparent long-term levodopa-induced adverse effects. We also observed a correlation between long-term IQ score and genotype, birth weight, and age at initiation of treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
An effective newborn screening referral program and early initiation of appropriate therapy preserved the IQ scores of PTPS-deficient patients.
Liu
Kai-Ming
KM
Insitute of Clinical Medicine, School of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
Liu
Tze-Tze
TT
Lee
Ni-Chung
NC
Cheng
Ling-Yee
LY
Hsiao
Kwang-Jen
KJ
Niu
Dau-Ming
DM
D006916:5-Hydroxytryptophan / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D044466:Asian People / Q000208:ethnology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007360:Intelligence / Q000187:drug effects; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D007980:Levodopa / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010661:Phenylketonurias / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy*; D019761:Phosphorus-Oxygen Lyases / Q000172:deficiency*; D011622:Pterins / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013624:Taiwan; D013997:Time Factors
D011622:Pterins; C011552:tetrahydropterin; D007980:Levodopa; D006916:5-Hydroxytryptophan; D019761:Phosphorus-Oxygen Lyases; C043497:6-pyruvoyltetrahydropterin synthase