Journal of Clinical Pediatrics ›› 2024, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (12): 1039-1046.doi: 10.12372/jcp.2024.24e0300

• Original Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

A clinical and prognosis study of five patients with cerebral creatine deficiency syndrome 2 caused by GAMT gene mutations

YANG Lei, FANG Fang(), SONG Tianyu, XU Chaolong   

  1. Department of Neurology, Neurological Center, Beijing Children’s Hospital, Capital Medical University, National Center for Children’s Health, Beijing 100045, China
  • Received:2024-04-02 Published:2024-12-15 Online:2024-12-02

Abstract:

Objective To analyse the clinical features, imaging characteristics and prognosis of patients diagnosed with cerebral creatine deficiency syndrome type 2 (CCDS2) caused by variations in the guanidinoacetate methyltransferase (GAMT) gene. Methods To retrospectively analyse the clinical data of five patients diagnosed with CCDS2 due to GAMT gene mutations from January 2016 to March 2024. The analysis focused on the age of disease onset, clinical symptoms, laboratory findings, treatment approaches, and prognosis. Results There were 3 males and 2 females, age of onset 1.5 (1.0-1.5) years old, all patients presented with developmental delay and seizures, with 4 cases exhibiting drug-refractory epilepsy and 3 cases also showing autistic-like behaviors. Brain magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) showed a significant decrease in cerebral creatine peaks in all 5 cases, and 2 cases showed abnormal signals in the brainstem with or without basal ganglia on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In all patients, blood or urine creatine metabolism tests showed a significant decrease in creatine and an increase in guanidinoacetate. Four patients received treatment with creatine supplementation and guanidinoacetate-lowering therapy, resulting in complete seizure control after 2 weeks to 10 months, discontinuation of anti-seizure medications, and varying degrees of improvement in motor and speech development. Conclusion CCDS2 due to variants in the GAMT gene usually presents with developmental delay with drug refractory epilepsy, partly combined with autistic-like behavior, and lacks specificity. Brain MRS and creatine metabolite testing may aid in genetic diagnosis, and treatment with creatine supplementation and guanidinoacetate lowering may be effective in controlling seizures and improving prognosis.

Key words: cerebral creatine deficiency syndromes, intellectual disabilities, guanidinoacetate methyltransferase, guanidinoacetate, refractory epilepsy