Glycogen storage disease type I: clinical and laboratory profile

To characterize the clinical, laboratory, and anthropometric profile of a sample of Brazilian patients with glycogen storage disease type I managed at an outpatient referral clinic for inborn errors of metabolism.

This was a cross-sectional outpatient study based on a convenience sampling strategy. Data on diagnosis, management, anthropometric parameters, and follow-up were assessed.

Twenty-one patients were included (median age 10 years, range 1-25 years), all using uncooked cornstarch therapy. Median age at diagnosis was 7 months (range, 1-132 months), and 19 patients underwent liver biopsy for diagnostic confirmation. Overweight, short stature, hepatomegaly, and liver nodules were present in 16 of 21, four of 21, nine of 14, and three of 14 patients, respectively. A correlation was found between height-for-age and BMI-for-age Z-scores (r=0.561; p=0.008).

Diagnosis of glycogen storage disease type I is delayed in Brazil. Most patients undergo liver biopsy for diagnostic confirmation, even though the combination of a characteristic clinical presentation and molecular methods can provide a definitive diagnosis in a less invasive manner. Obesity is a side effect of cornstarch therapy, and appears to be associated with growth in these patients.