Repurposing of Empagliflozin as a Possible Treatment for Neutropenia and Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Glycogen Storage Disease Type Ib: A Case Report

Glycogen storage disease type Ib (GSD-Ib) is an autosomal-recessive inborn error of carbohydrate metabolism, where severe fasting hypoglycemia is associated (among other manifestations) with neutropenia and neutrophil dysfunction (predisposing to recurrent, potentially life-threatening infections) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (G-CSFs) are commonly used for its treatment. Although they have improved the prognosis of the disease, these medicines have also led to concerns about complications associated with their use (namely splenomegaly and hematopoietic malignancies), not to mention their increased cost. Recently, a novel new treatment for neutropenia associated with this disease was discovered. It was found that sodium-glucose cotransporter type 2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors, usually used for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, can ameliorate both neutropenia and IBD-related symptoms and improve the quality of life in patients suffering from these diseases. They do it by inhibiting the renal reabsorption of 1,5-anhydroglucitol, a dietary analog of glucose, whose accumulation due to the specific enzyme deficiency leads to toxic effects on granulocytes. Herein we report the treatment of an adult patient suffering from GSD-Ib with empagliflozin, an SGLT-2 inhibitor.