Question: What is (are) Mevalonic aciduria ?
Answer: Mevalonic aciduria is the severe form of mevalonate kinase deficiency, a condition characterized by recurrent episodes of fever that typically begin during infancy. During these fever episodes, people with mevalonic aciduria may have an enlarged liver and spleen (hepatosplenomegaly), lymphadenopathy, abdominal pain, diarrhea, joint pain (arthralgia), and skin rashes. Additional ongoing issues include developmental delay, progressive ataxia, progressive problems with vision, an unusually small, elongated head, and failure to thrive. Mevalonic aciduria is caused by deficiency of mevalonate kinase, the first committed enzyme of cholesterol biosynthesis. This deficiency occurs as a result of inherited mutations in the MVK gene. This condition is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern. Treatment is challenging and remains mainly supportive. The less severe type of mevalonate kinase deficiency is called hyperimmunoglobulinemia D syndrome (HIDS).
Source: GARD

Question: What are the symptoms of Mevalonic aciduria ?
Answer: What are the signs and symptoms of Mevalonic aciduria? The Human Phenotype Ontology provides the following list of signs and symptoms for Mevalonic aciduria. If the information is available, the table below includes how often the symptom is seen in people with this condition. You can use the MedlinePlus Medical Dictionary to look up the definitions for these medical terms. Signs and Symptoms Approximate number of patients (when available) Cerebral cortical atrophy 90% Cognitive impairment 90% Delayed skeletal maturation 90% Dolichocephaly 90% Microcephaly 90% Muscular hypotonia 90% Seizures 90% Short stature 90% Splenomegaly 90% Triangular face 90% Blue sclerae 50% Cataract 50% Incoordination 50% Low-set, posteriorly rotated ears 50% Kyphoscoliosis 5% Aciduria - Agenesis of cerebellar vermis - Arthralgia - Autosomal recessive inheritance - Cerebellar atrophy - Cerebral atrophy - Diarrhea - Edema - Elevated hepatic transaminases - Elevated serum creatine phosphokinase - Failure to thrive - Fluctuating hepatomegaly - Fluctuating splenomegaly - Large fontanelles - Leukocytosis - Low-set ears - Lymphadenopathy - Morbilliform rash - Normocytic hypoplastic anemia - Nystagmus - Posteriorly rotated ears - Progressive cerebellar ataxia - Skin rash - Thrombocytopenia - Vomiting - The Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) has collected information on how often a sign or symptom occurs in a condition. Much of this information comes from Orphanet, a European rare disease database. The frequency of a sign or symptom is usually listed as a rough estimate of the percentage of patients who have that feature. The frequency may also be listed as a fraction. The first number of the fraction is how many people had the symptom, and the second number is the total number of people who were examined in one study. For example, a frequency of 25/25 means that in a study of 25 people all patients were found to have that symptom. Because these frequencies are based on a specific study, the fractions may be different if another group of patients are examined. Sometimes, no information on frequency is available. In these cases, the sign or symptom may be rare or common.
Source: GARD

Question: What are the treatments for Mevalonic aciduria ?
Answer: How might mevalonic aciduria be treated? Treatment of mevalonic aciduria remains a challenge. There is no standard treatment that is effective in all patients, so it remains mainly supportive. Treatment with simvastatin (an inhibitor of hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase, the enzyme that catalyzes the formation of mevalonic acid), which has been used with guarded success in patients with HIDS, worsened the clinical status of two patients with mevalonic aciduria. Anakinra, another medication used with some degree of success in HIDS patients, induced partial remission in at least one patient with mevalonic aciduria, but not all patients respond to so favorably. Reports of successful treatment of mevalonic aciduria through allogenic bone marrow transplantation have also surfaced. At this point, this therapy is investigational and potentially applicable to patients with mevalonic aciduria whose condition is resistant to therapy with anti-inflammatory drugs (e.g., inhibitors of TNF-alpha and interleukin-1 beta). The following articles provide additional details regarding treatment of mevalonic aciduria. Nevyjel M, Pontillo A, Calligaris L, Tommasini A, D'Osualdo A, Waterham HR, Granzotto M, Crovella S, Barbi E, Ventura A. Diagnostics and therapeutic insights in a severe case of mevalonate kinase deficiency. Pediatrics. 2007 Feb;119(2):e523-7. Neven B, Valayannopoulos V, Quartier P, Blanche S, Prieur AM, Debr M, Rolland MO, Rabier D, Cuisset L, Cavazzana-Calvo M, de Lonlay P, Fischer A. Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in mevalonic aciduria. N Engl J Med. 2007 Jun 28;356(26):2700-3. Arkwright PD, Abinun M, Cant AJ. Mevalonic aciduria cured by bone marrow transplantation. N Engl J Med. 2007 Sep 27;357(13):1350.
Source: GARD