[A case of adenine phosphoribosyltransferase (APRT) deficiency discovered by urine examination]

APRT deficiency is an enzyme disorder which is inherited as an autosomal recessive trait. The use of adenine in purine metabolism is disturbed and it accumulates in the body, where it is oxidised by xanthine oxidase to poorly insoluble 2, 8-dihydroxyadenine (DHA). The dihydroxyadenine forms stones which cause recurrent urolithiasis, frequent episodes of urinary tract infection or interstitial nephritis, and finally renal insufficiency in some cases. We report a case of APRT deficiency discovered by urine examination. The patient was a 33-year-old man who had never had any episodes of urolithiasis. He was admitted to our hospital because of pseudoarthrosis of his left arm caused by a traffic accident. His urinalysis revealed no proteinuria nor hematuria, but disclosed numerous round brown crystals in the sediment. These crystals had the characteristics of 2, 8-DHA. The enzyme activity of APRT in his blood was completely deficient. He was diagnosed as an APRT* QO homozygote. In addition, diagnostic imaging revealed that his right kidney was poorly hypoplastic and the pelvis of his left kidney was extra-renal. The renal function was slightly disturbed. In Japan 6 cases of 2, 8-DHA urolithiasis associated with hypoplastic kidney had been reported by 1989. Theoretically, the incidence of hypoplastic kidney is around 20% of all 2, 8-DHA urolithiasis cases. We suspect a genetic correlation between hypoplastic kidney and APRT deficiency. This patient was treated with Allopurinol, which inhibits the process of xanthine oxidation, after which crystals were no longer detected in his urine.