Medium-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency: Six cases in the Chinese population

Medium-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency (MCADD) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder that affects the degradation of medium-chain fatty acids. Few cases of MCADD have been documented to date in mainland China.

Medium-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency was diagnosed in six patients (three girls and three boys) from six unrelated Chinese families at ages ranging from 10 days to 3 years old. The diagnosis was confirmed by the identification of a primary biomarker of serum octanoyl-carnitine (C8) and genetic pathogenic mutations.

Only two patients were admitted because of vomiting, diarrhea, myasthenia, and coma; the other four patients were diagnosed via the newborn screening process. Six mutations were found in acyl-CoA dehydrogenase medium chain (ACADM). One mutation (c.727C>T) was novel and the others (c.158G>A, c.387+1delG, c.449_452del, c.1045C>T, and c.1085G>A) have been previously reported.

Six Chinese cases of MCADD were identified. One novel mutation was found. c.449_452del and c.1085G>A were common mutations in this study.