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Krabbe disease Classification & external resources
ICD-10
| E75.2
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ICD-9
| 330.0
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OMIM
| 245200
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DiseasesDB
| 29468
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eMedicine
| ped/2892
|
MeSH
| D007965
|
Krabbe disease (also known as globoid cell leukodystrophy or galactosylceramide lipidosis) is a rare, often fatal degenerative disorder that affects the myelin sheath of the nervous system. This condition is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern.
Additional recommended knowledge
Prevalence
Krabbe disease occurs in about 1 in 100,000 births.[1] A higher prevalence, about 1 in 6000,[2] has been reported in some Arab communities in Israel.[1]
Causes
Krabbe disease is caused by mutations in the GALC gene, which causes a deficiency of an enzyme called galactosylceramidase. The buildup of unmetabolized lipids affects the growth of the nerve's protective myelin sheath (the covering that insulates many nerves) and causes severe degeneration of mental and motor skills. As part of a group of disorders known as leukodystrophies, Krabbe disease results from the imperfect growth and development of myelin.
Symptoms
Infants with Krabbe disease are normal at birth. Symptoms begin between the ages of 3 and 6 months with irritability, fevers, limb stiffness, seizures, feeding difficulties, vomiting, and slowing of mental and motor development. In the first stages of the disease, doctors often mistake the symptoms with those of cerebral palsy. Other symptoms include muscle weakness, spasticity, deafness, optic atrophy and blindness, paralysis, and difficulty when swallowing. Prolonged weight loss may also occur. There are also juvenile- and adult-onset cases of Krabbe disease, which have similar symptoms but slower progression.
Diagnosis
The disease may be diagnosed by its characteristic grouping of certain cells (multinucleated globoid cells), nerve demyelination and degeneration, and destruction of brain cells. Special stains for myelin (e.g; luxol fast blue) may be used to aid diagnosis.
Treatment
Although there is no cure for Krabbe disease, bone marrow transplantation has been shown to benefit mild cases early in the course of the disease. Generally, treatment for the disorder is symptomatic and supportive. Physical therapy may help maintain or increase muscle tone and circulation. A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine reports that cord blood transplants have been successful in stopping the disease as long as they are given before overt symptoms appear. [2]
Prognosis
In infants, the disease is generally fatal before age 2. Patients with a later onset form of the disease have a milder course of the disease and live significantly longer.
Advocacy
Former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly has been a leader in gaining recognition and research funding for Krabbe disease, following the diagnosis of his son, Hunter, in 1997. Hunter Kelly died of the disease on August 5, 2005 at the age of 8. He was the longest-known living survivor of infantile Krabbe disease.
References
- ^ Zlotogora J (1997). "Autosomal recessive diseases among palestinian Arabs". J Med Genet. 34 (9): 765-766. PMID 9321766.
- ^ Escolar ML, Poe MD, Provenzale JM, Richards KC, Allison J, Wood S, Wenger DA, Pietryga D, Wall D, Champagne M, Morse R, Krivit W, Kurtzberg J (2005). "Transplantation of Umbilical-Cord Blood in Babies with Infantile Krabbe's Disease". New England Journal of Medicine 352 (20): 2124-2126. PMID 15901860.
See also
- The Myelin Project
- The Stennis Foundation
This article incorporates public domain text from The U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Metabolic pathology / Inborn error of metabolism (E70-90, 270-279) |
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Amino acid | Aromatic (Phenylketonuria, Alkaptonuria, Ochronosis, Tyrosinemia, Albinism, Histidinemia) - Organic acidemias (Maple syrup urine disease, Propionic acidemia, Methylmalonic acidemia, Isovaleric acidemia, 3-Methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase deficiency) - Transport (Cystinuria, Cystinosis, Hartnup disease, Fanconi syndrome, Oculocerebrorenal syndrome) - Sulfur (Homocystinuria, Cystathioninuria) - Urea cycle disorder (N-Acetylglutamate synthase deficiency, Carbamoyl phosphate synthetase I deficiency, Ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency, Citrullinemia, Argininosuccinic aciduria, Hyperammonemia) - Glutaric acidemia type 1 - Hyperprolinemia - Sarcosinemia |
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Carbohydrate | Lactose intolerance - Glycogen storage disease (type I, type II, type III, type IV, type V, type VI, type VII) - fructose metabolism (Fructose intolerance, Fructose bisphosphatase deficiency, Essential fructosuria) - galactose metabolism (Galactosemia, Galactose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase galactosemia, Galactokinase deficiency) - other intestinal carbohydrate absorption (Glucose-galactose malabsorption, Sucrose intolerance) - pyruvate metabolism and gluconeogenesis (PCD, PDHA) -
Pentosuria - Renal glycosuria |
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Lipid storage | Sphingolipidoses/Gangliosidoses: GM2 gangliosidoses (Sandhoff disease, Tay-Sachs disease) - GM1 gangliosidoses - Mucolipidosis type IV - Gaucher's disease - Niemann-Pick disease - Farber disease - Fabry's disease - Metachromatic leukodystrophy - Krabbe disease
Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (Batten disease) - Cerebrotendineous xanthomatosis - Cholesteryl ester storage disease (Wolman disease) |
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Fatty acid metabolism | Lipoprotein/lipidemias: Hyperlipidemia - Hypercholesterolemia - Familial hypercholesterolemia - Xanthoma - Combined hyperlipidemia - Lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase deficiency - Tangier disease - Abetalipoproteinemia
Fatty acid: Adrenoleukodystrophy - Acyl-coA dehydrogenase (Short-chain, Medium-chain, Long-chain 3-hydroxy, Very long-chain) - Carnitine (Primary, I, II) |
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Mineral | Cu Wilson's disease/Menkes disease - Fe Haemochromatosis - Zn Acrodermatitis enteropathica - PO43− Hypophosphatemia/Hypophosphatasia - Mg2+ Hypermagnesemia/Hypomagnesemia - Ca2+ Hypercalcaemia/Hypocalcaemia/Disorders of calcium metabolism |
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Fluid, electrolyte and acid-base balance | Electrolyte disturbance - Na+ Hypernatremia/Hyponatremia - Acidosis (Metabolic, Respiratory, Lactic) - Alkalosis (Metabolic, Respiratory) - Mixed disorder of acid-base balance - H2O Dehydration/Hypervolemia - K+ Hypokalemia/Hyperkalemia - Cl− Hyperchloremia/Hypochloremia |
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Purine and pyrimidine | Hyperuricemia - Lesch-Nyhan syndrome - Xanthinuria |
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Porphyrin | Acute intermittent, Gunther's, Cutanea tarda, Erythropoietic, Hepatoerythropoietic, Hereditary copro-, Variegate |
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Bilirubin | Unconjugated (Lucey-Driscoll syndrome, Gilbert's syndrome, Crigler-Najjar syndrome) - Conjugated (Dubin-Johnson syndrome, Rotor syndrome) |
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Glycosaminoglycan | Mucopolysaccharidosis - 1:Hurler/Hunter - 3:Sanfilippo - 4:Morquio - 6:Maroteaux-Lamy - 7:Sly |
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Glycoprotein | Mucolipidosis - I-cell disease - Pseudo-Hurler polydystrophy - Aspartylglucosaminuria - Fucosidosis - Alpha-mannosidosis - Sialidosis |
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Other | Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency - Cystic fibrosis - Amyloidosis (Familial Mediterranean fever) - Acatalasia |
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