Think classical homocystinuria if the genetic test did not confirm Marfan syndrome: Late diagnosis and phenotypic variability in adult siblings with classical homocystinuria

Abstract

Classical homocystinuria is an inherited metabolic disease of homocysteine metabolism due to biallelic pathogenic variants in CBS. The biochemical hallmark is elevated homocysteine and methionine levels. The treatment consists of betaine supplementation and protein restricted diet. We report two adult siblings with late diagnosis of classical homocystinuria, a variable phenotype and good response to the treatment.

Patient 1 is a 29-year-old female with a history of myopia, Marfanoid habitus with significant kyphoscoliosis, anxiety and a psychotic episode. Clinical exome sequencing identified compound heterozygous pathogenic variants in CBS (c.209+1G>A; c.992C>T (p.Ala331Val)). She had markedly elevated homocysteine (298 μmol/L) and methionine (1040 μmol/L) levels. Her brain magnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed a low n-acetyl-aspartic acid peak. She was started on betaine supplementation, and a protein-restricted diet (0.8 g/kg/day) leading to significant decrease in her homocysteine (37 μmol/L) and methionine (49 μmol/L) levels. Patient 2 is a 27-year-old female (younger sibling) with a history of anxiety, one generalized tonic-clonic seizure and a dural sinus thrombosis in neuroimaging. She had both familial CBS variants and markedly elevated homocysteine (152 μmol/L) and methionine (560 μmol/L) levels, which were improved significantly on betaine supplementation and the protein-restricted diet. Both siblings had average range intellectual abilities. Higher homocysteine levels may result in severe skeletal, and central nervous system phenotypes.