Lethal neonatal deficiency of carnitine palmitoyltransferase II associated with dysgenesis of the brain and kidneys.

We describe neonatal onset of a lethal multiorgan deficiency of carnitine palmitoyltransferase II (CPT II) associated with dysmorphic features, cardiomyopathy, and cystic dysplasia of the brain and kidneys. Concentrations of long-chain acylcarnitines were evaluated in blood and multiple tissues, diffuse lipid accumulation was present at autopsy, and a profound deficiency of CPT II activity was evident in heart, liver, muscle, and kidney tissue. This disorder constitutes another recognizable malformation syndrome with a metabolic basis. Deficiency of CPT II should be included in the differential diagnosis of patients with cystic renal dysplasia, dysmorphism, central nervous system malformations, and early death, along with glutaric acidemia type II, Zellweger syndrome, and other disorders in which peroxisomal beta-oxidation is impaired. The clinicopathologic similarities among these disorders raise the possibility that a common biochemical mechanism, namely the disruption of beta-oxidation of fatty acids, is responsible for the abnormal organogenesis.