maple syrup urine disease

▪ pathology

      inherited metabolic disorder involving leucine, isoleucine, and valine (a group of branch chain amino acids). Normally, these amino acids are metabolized, step by step, by a number of enzymes, each of which is specific for each step in the metabolism of each amino acid. One of the metabolic steps consists of the decarboxylation of the α-keto acids of leucine, isoleucine, and valine, respectively. In maple syrup disease, this particular step is blocked because of defective decarboxylating enzymes. As a result, leucine, isoleucine, and valine are found to increase in concentration in the blood plasma and to overflow, together with their respective α-keto acids, into the urine, which takes on a distinctive odour resembling that of maple syrup. Other signs of the disorder that are evident during the first few weeks of life include: poor feeding, irregular respiration, heightened muscular tension, and rigid arching of the back; the nervous system is also severely impaired. Affected infants die within several weeks unless treated. Effective treatment depends upon a diet low in leucine, isoleucine, and valine.

      Two other inborn errors of metabolism involving branch chain amino acids are isovaleric acidemia and hypervalinemia. In the former, the metabolism of leucine alone is blocked at one specific step by a defect in an enzyme called isovaleryl coenzyme A dehydrogenase. As a result, the level of isovaleric acid rises markedly in body fluids, and the affected individual suffers from episodic acidosis, or decrease in alkalinity of the blood and tissues, and from slight mental impairment. In hypervalinemia, the enzyme affected is valine transaminase, and the metabolism of valine alone is abnormal. The affected infant vomits shortly after birth, fails to gain weight, and appears mentally retarded.

* * *