What are the signs and symptoms of Glycogen storage disease type 4? The signs and symptoms of glycogen storage disease type 4 (GSD 4) can vary greatly between affected individuals, and several forms of GSD 4 have been described. Most affected individuals have a "classic" form characterized by progressive cirrhosis of the liver, eventually leading to liver failure. In these individuals, signs and symptoms typically begin in infancy and include failure to grow and gain weight appropriately (failure to thrive); enlargement of the liver and spleen (hepatosplenomegaly); abnormal fluid build-up in the abdomen (ascites); and enlargement of veins in the wall of the esophagus (esophageal varices) which may rupture and cause coughing up of blood. Progressive liver disease in affected children can lead to the need for a liver transplant or life-threatening complications by approximately 5 years of age. There have been some reports of affected individuals having nonprogressive liver disease; very mildly affected individuals may not show signs and symptoms of the disease. There have also been reports of neuromuscular forms of GSD 4, most of which become apparent in late childhood. These may be characterized by skeletal muscle or heart muscle disease (myopathy or cardiomyopathy) caused by the accumulation of glycogen in the muscle tissue. Signs and symptoms in these cases may include muscle weakness or fatigue, exercise intolerance, and muscle wasting (atrophy). Complications with these forms may include heart failure. A more severe neuromuscular form that is apparent at birth has also been reported; this form may be characterized by generalized edema (swelling cause by fluid); decreased muscle tone (hypotonia); muscle weakness and wasting; joints having fixed positions (contractures); and neurologic involvement, which can cause life-threatening complications early in life. The Human Phenotype Ontology provides the following list of signs and symptoms for Glycogen storage disease type 4. 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) Abnormality of metabolism/homeostasis 90% Abnormality of movement 90% Ascites 90% Hepatic failure 90% Muscular hypotonia 90% Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy 7.5% Autosomal recessive inheritance - Cardiomyopathy - Cirrhosis - Decreased fetal movement - Edema - Esophageal varix - Failure to thrive - Hepatosplenomegaly - Hydrops fetalis - Muscle weakness - Polyhydramnios - Portal hypertension - Skeletal muscle atrophy - Tubulointerstitial fibrosis - 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.