Is aortic stiffness present and relevant in Fabry disease?

Answer from top 10 papers

Aortic stiffness is not explicitly discussed in the provided papers, and therefore, there is no direct evidence from these sources to confirm its presence or relevance in Fabry disease. However, given that Fabry disease is a multisystem disorder with significant cardiovascular involvement, including left ventricular hypertrophy (Umeda et al., 2015) and heart disease (Degirmenci et al., 2017), it is plausible that aortic stiffness could be a related complication. Cardiovascular manifestations such as left ventricular hypertrophy are indicative of chronic stress on the heart, which could be associated with increased aortic stiffness.
Interestingly, while aortic stiffness is a recognized consequence of cardiovascular disease and could theoretically be associated with the cardiac manifestations of Fabry disease, the papers provided focus more on other aspects of the disease's pathology. For instance, they discuss the accumulation of globotriaosylceramide in various tissues (Baptista et al., 2015; Bersano et al., 2012; Degirmenci et al., 2017; Muto et al., 2021; Neto, 2014; Pisani et al., 2012; Weidemann et al., 2022), the importance of early diagnosis and treatment (Bersano et al., 2012), and the neurological and renal complications (Al-Salam et al., 2012; Baptista et al., 2015; Pisani et al., 2012). None of the papers directly address the issue of aortic stiffness.
In summary, while the provided literature does not directly address aortic stiffness in the context of Fabry disease, the cardiovascular complications described in the papers suggest that it could be a relevant concern. Further research would be required to establish a definitive link between aortic stiffness and Fabry disease (Degirmenci et al., 2017; Pisani et al., 2012; Umeda et al., 2015).

Source Papers

Screening for Fabry disease in left ventricular hypertrophy: documentation of a novel mutation.

BackgroundFabry disease is a lysosomal storage disease caused by enzyme α-galactosidase A deficiency as a result of mutations in the GLA gene. Cardiac involvement is characterized by progressive left ventricular hypertrophy.ObjectiveTo estimate the prevalence of Fabry disease in a population with left ventricular hypertrophy.MethodsThe patients were assessed for the presence of left ventricular hypertrophy defined as a left ventricular mass index ≥ 96 g/m2 for women or ≥ 116 g/m2 for men. Severe aortic stenosis and arterial hypertension with mild left ventricular hypertrophy were exclusion criteria. All patients included were assessed for enzyme α-galactosidase A activity using dry spot testing. Genetic study was performed whenever the enzyme activity was decreased.ResultsA total of 47 patients with a mean left ventricular mass index of 141.1 g/m2 (± 28.5; 99.2 to 228.5 g/m2] were included. Most of the patients were females (51.1%). Nine (19.1%) showed decreased α-galactosidase A activity, but only one positive genetic test − [GLA] c.785G>T; p.W262L (exon 5), a mutation not previously described in the literature. This clinical investigation was able to establish the association between the mutation and the clinical presentation.ConclusionIn a population of patients with left ventricular hypertrophy, we documented a Fabry disease prevalence of 2.1%. This novel case was defined in the sequence of a mutation of unknown meaning in the GLA gene with further pathogenicity study. Thus, this study permitted the definition of a novel causal mutation for Fabry disease - [GLA] c.785G>T; p.W262L (exon 5).

Open Access