Sindrome de allgrove en niños. Reporte de 11 casos

Abstract

Background. Allgrove Syndrome is a very rare genetic disease, which is inherited in an autosomal recessive way. The responsible gene is the AAAS, that encodes the protein ALADIN. It occurs most often in children of consanguineous parents. It is characterized by the classic triad of achalasia, alacrima, and adrenal insufficiency due to resistance to ACTH; the presence of two of the three previous manifestation events are required to establish the diagnosis. There is also a high frequency of the neurologic symptoms. Objective. Describe the clinical characteristics, age of presentation and evolution in 11 patients with Allgrove Syndrome. Methods. 11 clinical cases compatible with Allgrove Syndrome of presentation in childhood are retrospectively reviewed. Results. The average age at diagnosis was 5.9 years (range 1-16 years old). There was a predominance of the female sex (n = 7). The most common symptoms were postprandial vomiting and alacrima, present in 100% of the cases at the time of diagnosis. Adrenal insufficiency was not common; it was only documented in one patient. There was consanguinity between parents in 62.5% of the cases. Conclusions. Allgrove Syndrome is an uncommon cause of dysphagia, chronic vomiting and failure to grow in children. In case of any documented case of achalasia it is suggested to question in a directed way the presence of alacrima and adrenal insufficiency data such as seizures, hyperpigmentation of the skin and neurological alterations.