Primary Hyperoxaluria—Amino Acid Metabolism Disorders

Metabolism is the process your body uses to make energy from the food you eat. Food is made up of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Your digestive system breaks the food parts down into sugars and acids, your body’s fuel. Your body can use this fuel right away, or it can store the energy in your body. If you have a metabolic disorder, something goes wrong with this process.

One group of these disorders is amino acid metabolism disorders. They include phenylketonuria (PKU) and maple syrup urine disease. Amino acids are “building blocks” that join together to form proteins. If you have one of these disorders, your body may have trouble breaking down certain amino acids. Or there may be a problem getting the amino acids into your cells. These problems cause a buildup of harmful substances in your body. That can lead to serious, sometimes life-threatening, health problems.

These disorders are usually inherited. A baby who is born with one may not have any symptoms right away. Because the disorders can be so serious, early diagnosis and treatment are critical. Newborn babies get screened for many of them, using blood tests.

Treatments may include special diets, medicines, and supplements. Some babies may also need additional treatments if there are complications.

Primary hyperoxaluria is a rare condition characterized by recurrent kidney and bladder stones. The condition often results in end stage renal disease (ESRD), which is a life-threatening condition that prevents the kidneys from filtering fluids and waste products from the body effectively.Primary hyperoxaluria results from the overproduction of a substance called oxalate. Oxalate is filtered through the kidneys and excreted as a waste product in urine, leading to abnormally high levels of this substance in urine (hyperoxaluria). During its excretion, oxalate can combine with calcium to form calcium oxalate, a hard compound that is the main component of kidney and bladder stones. Deposits of calcium oxalate can damage the kidneys and other organs and lead to blood in the urine (hematuria), urinary tract infections, kidney damage, ESRD, and injury to other organs. Over time, kidney function decreases such that the kidneys can no longer excrete as much oxalate as they receive. As a result oxalate levels in the blood rise, and the substance gets deposited in tissues throughout the body (systemic oxalosis), particularly in bones and the walls of blood vessels. Oxalosis in bones can cause fractures.There are three types of primary hyperoxaluria that differ in their severity and genetic cause. In primary hyperoxaluria type 1, kidney stones typically begin to appear anytime from childhood to early adulthood, and ESRD can develop at any age. Primary hyperoxaluria type 2 is similar to type 1, but ESRD develops later in life. In primary hyperoxaluria type 3, affected individuals often develop kidney stones in early childhood, but few cases of this type have been described so additional signs and symptoms of this type are unclear.