Multiple sulfatase deficiency: clinical, neuropathological, ultrastructural and biochemical studies

We describe the clinical, pathological, ultrastructural and biochemical features in the case of a 15-year-old boy with multiple sulfatase deficiency. Clinical abnormalities included hypotonia, retarded psychomotor development, hepatosplenomegaly, pigmentary degeneration of the retina, myoclonic seizures, aortic insufficiency and quadriplegia. Urinalysis revealed increased heparan sulfate. At necropsy, aortic and mitral valves revealed nodular thickening and periodic acid-Schiff (PAS)-positive, metachromatic granules in renal proximal tubules. The brain weighed 400 g and demonstrated cerebral and cerebellar atrophy with a retrocerebellar meningeal cyst. Cortical neurons contained periodic acid-Schiff-positive and cresyl violet-reactive granules. White matter demonstrated brown metachromasia and intense fibrillary gliosis. Conjunctival fibroblasts contained amorphous vacuoles with dense osmiophilic nucleoid cores. Pleomorphic extracellular, intraneural and intraglial inclusions were noted in the brain. Activities of arylsulfatase A, B and C were diminished markedly in autopsied tissue from brain, liver, and kidney (0, 0 and less than 10% of control activities, respectively). Partial deficiencies of iduronate sulfatase and heparan sulfatase were noted in different tissues. Variable decreased enzyme activities were expressed in leukocytes: arylsulfatase A, less than 33%; B, 40%; and C, 90%; heparan sulfatase, 2%; and iduronate sulfatase was not detectable. Near normal activities were found in cultured fibroblasts.