Clinical Information

Fatty Acid Deficiency/Excess:

Fats are important sources of energy for tissues and for the function and integrity of cellular membranes. Deficiencies are commonly caused by inadequate dietary intake of lipids due to an unbalanced diet, long-term parenteral nutrition, or by intestinal malabsorption. Linoleic acid, an omega-6 fatty acid, and alpha-linolenic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid, are considered essential fatty acids in that they cannot be made by the body and are essential components of the diet.

The major clinical manifestations associated with essential fatty acid deficiency (EFAD) include dermatitis, increased water permeability of the skin, increased susceptibility to infection, and impaired wound healing. Biochemical abnormalities may be detected before the onset of recognizable clinical manifestations. EFAD can be detected by diminished levels of the essential fatty acids, linoleic and alpha-linolenic acid, as well as by increases in the triene:tetraene ratio.

Excess dietary fatty acids have been linked to the onset of cardiovascular disease. Elevated levels of linoleic acid can contribute to overproduction of the proinflammatory 2-series local hormones. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends that dietary fat for the healthy adult population should provide 20% to 35% of energy, with an increased consumption of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and limited intake of saturated and trans fats.(1)

Fatty Acid Oxidation Disorders:

Mitochondrial beta-oxidation is the main source of energy to skeletal and heart muscle during periods of fasting. When the body's supply of glucose is depleted, fatty acids are mobilized from adipose tissue and converted to ketone bodies through a series of steps providing an alternate source of energy. Deficient enzymes at any step in this pathway prevent the production of energy during periods of physiologic stress such as fasting or intercurrent illness.

The major clinical manifestations associated with fatty acid oxidation (FAO) disorders include hypoketotic hypoglycemia, liver disease and failure, skeletal myopathy, dilated/hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and sudden unexpected death in early life. Signs and symptoms may vary greatly in severity, combination, and age of presentation. Life-threatening episodes of metabolic decompensation frequently occur after periods of inadequate calorie intake or intercurrent illness. When properly diagnosed, patients with FAO disorders respond favorably to fasting avoidance, diet therapy, and aggressive treatment of intercurrent illnesses, with significant reduction of morbidity and mortality.

Disease-specific characteristic patterns of metabolites from FAO disorders are detectable in blood, bile, urine, and cultured fibroblasts of living and many deceased individuals. Quantitative determination of C8-C18 fatty acids is an important element of the workup and differential diagnosis of candidate patients. Fatty acid profiling can detect quantitatively modest, but nevertheless significant, abnormalities even when patients are asymptomatic and under dietary treatment. Confirmatory testing for many of the FAO disorders is also available. For more information see FAO / Fatty Acid Oxidation Probe Assay, Fibroblast Culture and HFAOP / Fatty Acid Oxidation Gene Panel, Varies.

Peroxisomal Disorders:

Peroxisomes are organelles present in all human cells except mature erythrocytes. They carry out essential metabolic functions including beta-oxidation of very long-chain fatty acids (VLCFA), alpha-oxidation of phytanic acid, and biosynthesis of plasmalogen and bile acids. Peroxisomal disorders include disorders of peroxisomal biogenesis with defective assembly of the entire organelle, and single peroxisomal enzyme/transporter defects where the organelle is intact but a specific function is disrupted. Peroxisomal beta-oxidation of VLCFA is impaired in all disorders of peroxisomal biogenesis and in selected single enzyme deficiencies, particularly X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy, resulting in elevated concentrations of VLCFA in serum or plasma. POXP / Fatty Acid Profile, Peroxisomal (C22-C26), Plasma or POX / Fatty Acid Profile, Peroxisomal (C22-C26), Serum is the preferred screening test for evaluating patients with possible peroxisomal disorders, single-enzyme defects of peroxisomal metabolism such as X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy, or peroxisomal biogenesis disorders (Zellweger syndrome spectrum). Confirmatory testing for X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy via molecular genetic analysis is available; see XALDZ / X-Linked Adrenoleukodystrophy, Full Gene Analysis, Varies.