Charlotte Chanson

A systematic literature review was conducted to evaluate the emerging evidence on newborn screening (NBS) for metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD; MIM #250100). The review focuses on (1) screening assay performance, (2) diagnostic confirmation methods and care pathways, (3) feasibility of population-based identification, and (4) the impact of early diagnosis and treatment on health outcomes. Electronic databases were searched in February 2025, and supplementary searches were performed up to 17 June 2025, for articles referencing NBS for MLD and treatments for MLD; 52 publications were eligible for inclusion. Nationwide NBS for MLD is currently carried out in Norway and large prospective pilots are running in Germany, Austria, Italy and the US. MLD meets established Wilson and Jungner criteria, with a reliable screening algorithm, established confirmatory diagnostics, and actionable care pathways. There is ongoing work to develop tools to predict disease severity and subtype. Early intervention—via gene therapy for early-onset MLD and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for late-onset forms—significantly improves outcomes when initiated before symptom onset. This review provides the first comprehensive synthesis of the evidence supporting MLD for inclusion in NBS programs, underscoring the public health value of early identification and intervention.

Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) is a fatal inherited lysosomal storage disease that can be detected through newborn bloodspot screening. The feasibility of the screening assay and the clinical rationale for screening for MLD have been previously demonstrated, so the aim of this study is to determine whether the addition of screening for MLD to the routine newborn screening program in the UK is a cost-effective use of National Health Service (NHS) resources. A health economic analysis from the perspective of the NHS and Personal Social Services was developed based on a decision-tree framework for each MLD subtype using long-term outcomes derived from a previously presented partitioned survival and Markov economic model. Modelling inputs for parameters related to epidemiology, test characteristics, screening and treatment costs were based on data from three major UK specialist MLD hospitals, structured expert opinion and published literature. Lifetime costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were discounted at 1.5% to account for time preference. Uncertainty associated with the parameter inputs was explored using sensitivity analyses. This health economic analysis demonstrates that newborn screening for MLD is a cost-effective use of NHS resources using a willingness-to-pay threshold appropriate to the severity of the disease; and supports the inclusion of MLD into the routine newborn screening programme in the UK.