A case of glutaric acidemia type II (severe multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenation disorder) with subsequent prenatal...

A case of severe multiple acyl-CoA dehydrogenation disorder is described. This is the second such case reported to have had an elevated maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein and normal amniotic alpha-fetoprotein. The child's 3-day extrauterine life was characterized by intractable acidosis, respiratory distress, and ventricular fibrillation. The characteristic biochemical, morphologic, and microscopic findings of this condition are reviewed. A subsequent pregnancy was evaluated using chorionic villus sampling and analysis of cultured trophoblasts. The trophoblasts were biochemically normal, and a normal child was subsequently delivered. Since the manifestations of this disorder developed in utero, prenatal diagnosis and therapy offer the only hope for a more prolonged survival.