Congenital hypothalamic hypogonadism — a Kallmann syndrome in boys. Clinical cases

Central hypogonadism (CH) is a rare disease that occurs with a frequency of 1 : 8000 in women and 1 : 4000 in men. In 60 % of cases of CH, it is caused by Kallmann syndrome (KS) — a disease in which hypogonadotropic hypogonadism is combined with olfactory disorders (hyposmia or anosmia).Aim — to study clinical features, principles of diagnosis of CH/KS and evaluation of the effectiveness of various treatment. Materials and methods. 4 cases with CH/KS from three families had been described. Laboratory and instrumental investigations were used to confirm the KS; genetic diagnosis was performed using targeted next-generation sequencing (tNGS hypogonadotropic panel).Results. Patients with CH/KS had a wide spectrum of genital disorders (micropenia, cryptorchidism, microorchidism), which appeared at different age. Extragenital pathology was found in three of four patients: namely disorders of kidney, eye, respiratory system, hypoparathyroidism, hypothyroidism and epilepsy. It should be noted that all patients had olfactory disorders, which appeared in two of them only during a detailed survey after receiving genetic testing. In all patients, the diagnosis of CH was confirmed by the test with triptorelin 0.1. Also, all patients who underwent densitometry were found to have significant osteoporosis. In three patients, genetic testing confirmed hemizygous pathogenic variants in ANOS1 gene, while in one patient a heterozygous variant in FGFR1 gene was confirmed. After treatment with chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), two patients responded positively, with a descent of the testicles into the scrotum and an increase of testosterone level and testicular volume. However, in the other two patients there was no positive trend in treatment with HCG, therefore, the use of recombinant human FSH (r-FSH) in the form of priming and then further — in combination with HCG may be considered. Although the presence of severe microorchidism, cryptorchidism, low levels of AMH, inhibin B, and an unsatisfactory response to the previous treatment with HCG indicates extremely unfavorable prognosis. Therefore, in order to achieve the fertility in some patients with CH/KS, the most likely attempt is the use of assisted reproductive technologies.Conclusions. The leading problem in the treatment of patients with KS is their different response to hormone therapy, including different manifestations of the disease.

Kallmann Syndrome and X-linked Ichthyosis Caused by Translocation Between Chromosomes X and Y: A Case Report

Background: Xp22.3 region is characterized by low frequency of interspersed repeats and low GC content. Several clinically important genes including ANOS1 (KAL1) reside in this region. This gene was first identified due to translocation between chromosomes X and Y in a patient with Kallmann syndrome. Case Presentation: A 20 year old male presented with complaints of delayed secondary sexual characteristics, impaired sense of smell, and poor scholastic performance. On examination, he had short stature (151 cm; <3rd centile). His sexual maturity corresponded to Tanner stage 3. Stretched penile length was 3.6 cm (<3rd centile). Right testis was undescended with low left testicular volume (12 ml). There was mild ichthyosis over abdomen and back. He had hyposmia, hoarse voice, and synkinesia. Investigations were suggestive of hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism. Karyotype revealed an extra chromosomal material on p arm of chromosome X (46,Xp+,Y). On cytogenetic microarray, deletion of 8.3 Mb on Xp22.33 region and duplication of 12.8 Mb on Yq11.22 region were identified. The breakpoint on X chromosome resulted in deletion of exons 7-14 of ANOS1 gene and complete STS, NLGN4X, ARSL (ARSE), SHOX, and VCX genes. Conclusion: Patients diagnosed with Kallmann syndrome should receive careful clinical evaluation to detect presence of a contiguous gene syndrome.

A novel heterozygous mutation of CHD7 gene in a Chinese patient with Kallmann syndrome: a case report

Background Variants of chromodomain helicase DNA binding protein 7 (CHD7) gene are commonly associated with Kallmann syndrome (KS) and account for 5–6% of idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH) cases. Here we report a novel mutation of CHD7 gene in a patient with KS, which may contribute to the better understanding of KS. Case presentation A 29-year-old male patient with KS and a chief complaint of delayed puberty for 13 years (Tanner B Stage< 4) was admitted to the Department of Endocrinology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University (Hangzhou, China) in September 2019. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) showed low bone density in both lumbar spine (L1 ~ L5 mean Z-score − 3.0) and femoral neck (Z-score − 2.7). Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of pituitary and contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) showed no abnormal findings. Ophthalmological evaluation showed that his both eyes showed exotropia, and no sight loss was noted. Heterozygous c.1619G > T mutation of TCD7 gene (p.G4856V) was detected, whereas none of his family members had this mutation. Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and human menopausal gonadotropin (HMG) were injected for three times/week to treat idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH). After several months of therapy, the patient’s health condition improved. His testicles became larger, and his secondary sexual characteristics improved after treatment. Conclusion Exploration of the novel splice-site mutation of CHD7 may further our current understanding of KS.

Magnetic resonance imaging in Kallmann syndrome: A case report

Kallmann syndrome is a rare genetically inherited condition characterized by hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism and anosmia or hyposmia. It is due to failure of migration of gonadotrophic releasing hormone neuron and olfactory neuron to hypothalamus. This case reports a 39-year-old Maldivian adult with clinical features of Kallmann syndrome and magnetic resonance imaging brain showing absence of olfactory sulcus and bulb.

Seminal Plasma Lipidomics Profiling to Identify Signatures of Kallmann Syndrome

BackgroundKallmann syndrome (KS) is a rare developmental disorder. Our previous metabolomics work showed substantial changes in linoleic acid and glycerophospholipid metabolism in KS. Here, we performed targeted lipidomics to further identify the differential lipid species in KS.MethodsTwenty-one patients with KS (treatment group) and twenty-two age-matched healthy controls (HC, control group) were enrolled. Seminal plasma samples and medical records were collected. Targeted lipidomics analysis of these samples was performed using ultraperformance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTOF-MS).ResultsLipidomics profiling of patients with KS and the HCs showed clear separation in the orthogonal projections to latent structures-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). There were many differential lipids identified, with the main differential lipid species being triacylglycerols (TAGs), phosphatidylcholines (PCs) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE).ConclusionsThe lipidomics profile of patients with KS changed. It was also determined that TAGs, PCs and PE are promising biomarkers for KS diagnosis. To our knowledge, this is the first report to analyze lipidomics in men with Kallmann syndrome.