A family with various symptomatology suggestive of Anderson-Fabry disease and a genetic polymorphism of alpha galactosidase A gene.

BACKGROUND: Anderson/Fabry disease expresses a wide range of clinical variability in patients that it is possible to explain referring to a genetic variability with numerous mutations described in the literature (more than 600). METHODS: We report some clinical cases of some members of a Sicilian family to express phenotypical variability of this disease in subjects with the same genetic mutation RESULTS: The first case was a 59-year-old female. Brain MRI revealed right frontal periventricular white matter of likely vascular-degenerative origin. The proband's alpha galactosidase A activity was 3.7nmol/mL/h. Molecular genetics revealed a polymorphism: -10 C>T; IVS 2-76_80del5; IVS4-16 A>G; IVS6-22 C>T. The second case was a 30year-old male affected by acroparesthesias and hypoidrosis since he was an adolescent. Renal impairment was first detected at age 29; it began with high plasma levels of creatinine and microalbuminuria date. The third case was a 41year-old daughter that presented with acroparesthesias, hypoidrosis since she was very young. The patient's alpha galactosidase A activity was 4.1nmol/mL/h, in whole blood, which is compatible with heterozygote subject for Fabry's disease or healthy control. The fourth case was a male grandson of the proband, 9year-old child. He had a classic gastrointestinal involvement. He complained of recurrent abdominal pain, post prandial bloating and pain. This child's enzyme activity was 1.65nmol/mL/h. In cases 2, 3, and 4, molecular genetics revealed a polymorphism: -10 C>T; IVS 2-76_80del5; IVS4-16 A>G; IVS6-22 C<T DISCUSSION: A recent study reported that IVS4+68 A>G, IVS6-22C>T polymorphisms occurred in 8.9% and 3.7% of the subjects respectively, and the significance of this haplotype in FD pathology remains unknown but possibly suggestive of Anderson/Fabry disease.