A child with night blindness: preventing serious symptoms of Refsum disease

J Child Neurol. 2012 May;27(5):654-6. doi: 10.1177/0883073811424799. Epub 2011 Dec 7.

Abstract

Refsum disease is a genetic progressive neurological disorder caused by neurotoxic phytanic acid, a nutritional component patients are unable to metabolize. Symptoms include retinopathy, polyneuropathy, ataxia, and deafness. They are variable and rarely recognized before adulthood. The authors report the case of a 14-year-old girl diagnosed because of night blindness. They treated her with a phytanic acid-poor diet and extracorporeal lipid apheresis. They used different methods over a 30-month period. Thereafter, the patient was treated with diet only. Membrane filtration and heparin-induced extracorporeal low-density lipoprotein precipitation apheresis were well tolerated. Withdrawal of phytanic acid was studied quantitatively. During a 5-year period, blood phytanic acid levels decreased to a noncritical range. The patient remained free of ophthalmological and neurological progression for a total observation of 12 years. Early diagnosis and effective measures to keep the phytanic acid load low can probably prevent the serious sequelae of Refsum disease. Developing a method for newborn screening is desirable.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Lipoproteins, LDL / administration & dosage*
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Mixed Function Oxygenases / genetics
  • Mutation / genetics
  • Night Blindness / diet therapy*
  • Night Blindness / etiology*
  • Phytanic Acid / blood
  • Refsum Disease / complications*
  • Refsum Disease / prevention & control*

Substances

  • Lipoproteins, LDL
  • Phytanic Acid
  • Mixed Function Oxygenases
  • PHYH protein, human