Profound Neonatal Hypoglycemia and Lactic Acidosis Caused by Pyridoxine-Dependent Epilepsy

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Abstract
Pyridoxine-dependent epilepsy (PDE) was first described in 1954. The ALDH7A1 gene mutations resulting in α-aminoadipic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency as a cause of PDE was identified only in 2005. Neonatal epileptic encephalopathy is the presenting feature in >50% of patients with classic PDE. We report the case of a 13-month-old girl with profound neonatal hypoglycemia (0.6 mmol/L; reference range >2.4), lactic acidosis (11 mmol/L; reference range A (p.Val278Val), and a novel putative pathogenic missense mutation c.1192G>C (p.Gly398Arg) in the ALDH7A1 gene. She has been seizure-free since 1.5 months of age on treatment with pyridoxine alone. She has motor delay and central hypotonia but normal language and social development at the age of 13 months. This case is the first description of a patient with PDE due to mutations in the ALDH7A1 gene who presented with profound neonatal hypoglycemia and lactic acidosis masquerading as a neonatal-onset gluconeogenesis defect. PDE should be included in the differential diagnosis of hypoglycemia and lactic acidosis in addition to medically refractory neonatal seizures.

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