Difficulties in Diagnosing Fabry Disease in Patients with Unexplained Left Ventricular Hypertrophy (LVH): Is the Novel GLA Gene Mutation a Pathogenic Mutation or Polymorphism?

Fabry disease (FD) is an X-linked, lysosomal glycosphingolipid storage disorder that occurs very rarely. Cardiac involvement may comprise of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), arrhythmias, conduction abnormalities, heart failure and valvular abnormalities. The goal of this study was to conduct gene analysis for FD in patients suffering from unexplained LVH. 120 patients over the age of 30 who were diagnosed by echocardiography with idiopathic LVH were included in the study. Patients with severe hypertension, intermediate valve disease such as moderate aortic stenosis, known FD, and a family history of autosomal dominant hypertrophic cardiomyopathy were excluded from the study. GLA gene mutations were studied by Sanger sequence analysis in all patients. Of the 120 total patients included in this study, 69 were female (58%) and 51 were male (42%). The mean age was 60.3 ± 15.7. GLA gene mutations were detected in three male patients. The detected mutations are as follows: NM_000169.2:IVS6-10G>A (c.1000–10G>A), NM_000169.2:c.937G>T (p.D313Y) (p.Asp313Tyr) and NM_000169.2:c.941A>T (p.K314M) (p.Lys314Met). Early diagnosis is of vital importance in FD, which can be treated with enzyme replacement. Genetic screening in patients diagnosed with idiopathic LVH by echocardiography is important in the early diagnosis and treatment of FD. Patients over 30 years of age with idiopathic LVH should be screened for FD. Various new polymorphisms can be detected in genetic screening. Identifying new polymorphisms is important for knowing the true mutations in FD.