Maternal Inborn Errors of Metabolism Detected in Expanded Newborn Metabolic Screening

Oğuzhan Tin1, Tanyel Zübarioğlu2, Mehmet Şerif Cansever3

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, İstanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine, İstanbul, Turkey.

PubMed

Insights

Expanded newborn screening can identify maternal inborn errors of metabolism. This study found metabolic disorders in 23.5% of mothers based on their babies' screening results, aiding early diagnosis.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Genetics
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Pathologic results in expanded metabolic screening can stem from medications, sampling errors, or maternal inborn errors of metabolism.
  • Identifying maternal inborn errors of metabolism (IEM) is crucial for accurate diagnosis and management.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify mothers with inborn errors of metabolism by analyzing their infants' abnormal expanded metabolic screening results.
  • To highlight the utility of expanded metabolic screening in detecting undiagnosed maternal IEM.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective single-centered study including infants under 1 year with pathologic expanded newborn screening results and their mothers.
  • Collected and analyzed expanded metabolic screening data for both infants and mothers.
  • Recorded clinical and laboratory findings in mothers suggestive of IEM.

Main Results:

  • Seventeen mother-infant pairs were enrolled in the study.
  • Abnormal expanded metabolic screening results were consistent with inborn errors of metabolism in 4 out of 17 mothers (23.5%).
  • Specific diagnoses in mothers included 3-methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase deficiency (2 mothers) and glutaric aciduria type 1 (2 mothers).

Conclusions:

  • Inborn errors of metabolism can manifest at any life stage, including adulthood.
  • This study is the first in Turkey to demonstrate the value of expanded metabolic screening (using tandem mass spectrometry) for early IEM diagnosis in both pediatric patients and adults.
  • Expanded metabolic screening is a valuable tool for detecting previously undiagnosed maternal inborn errors of metabolism.
Abstract