Clinical Description
Trichohepatoenteric syndrome (THES) is considered a syndrome of neonatal enteropathy [Canani et al 2015]. THES is characterized by the association of intractable diarrhea (seen in almost all affected children), woolly hair (seen in all, but may not be obvious at a young age or due to cultural grooming practices), intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), facial dysmorphism, and short stature, as well as poorly characterized immunodeficiency (sometimes with macrophage activation syndrome), recurrent infections, skin abnormalities, and liver disease. Intellectual disability (ID) is seen in about 50% of children. Less common findings include congenital heart defects and platelet anomalies. To date 52 affected individuals have been reported (see Table 1).
Intractable diarrhea usually begins in the first days of life but sometimes can be delayed until later in the first year of life. The diarrhea persists despite bowel rest (i.e., use of parenteral nutrition). Stools are watery; in rare cases blood can be found. The diarrhea leads to malabsorption and failure to thrive, which typically requires parenteral nutrition (see Management). To date, the diarrhea has appeared to be lifelong [Fabre & Badens 2014].
Very rarely, the clinical presentation can resemble so-called very early-onset inflammatory bowel disease (VEOIBD).
In the only instance in which immunodeficiency was reported to be the major clinical finding, the child never manifested the characteristic diarrhea [Rider et al 2015].
Woolly, brittle hair. Detailed clinical descriptions of the hair provided for 41 individuals included the following: woolly (n=22), poorly pigmented / light (n=18), easily removable / brittle (n=19), and unmanageable / unable to be combed (n=15) (e.g., Bozzetti et al [2013], Busoni et al [2017]).
Growth failure
Immunodeficiency. Children are prone to recurrent infection [Girault et al 1994, Martinez-Vinson 2004, Zheng et al 2016, Bick et al 2017]. Both viral infections (respiratory syncytial virus [Lee et al 2016a], Epstein Barr virus [Martinez-Vinson 2004, Fabre & Badens 2014]) and bacterial infections [Martinez-Vinson 2004, Rider et al 2015] have been reported.
Nine of 15 individuals with THES had a transient hemophagocytic syndrome / macrophage activation syndrome [Fabre & Badens 2014]; however, no specific data were provided about diagnosis or management.
Infection was implicated in the death of seven of 21 affected individuals.
Liver disease, found in about half of affected individuals, is mostly cirrhosis and fibrosis [Fabre et al 2014]. In seven of 17 individuals for whom the cause of death was described, liver disease (mostly liver failure or cirrhosis) was implicated [Girault et al 1994, Verloes et al 1997, Kinnear et al 2017]. One individual developed a hepatoblastoma [Bozzetti et al 2013].
Pathology showed iron overload and sometimes hemochromatosis [Hartley et al 2010, Fabre et al 2014]. In some instances, hemochromatosis improved with time [Fabre et al 2007].
Mild intellectual disability, described in about half of affected individuals [Goulet et al 2008, Fabre & Badens, Fabre et al 2014], is poorly characterized.
Brain MRI – when performed – appears normal [Fabre & Badens 2014].
Skin abnormalities. The most common are café au lait spots that preferentially appear on the lower limbs [Monies et al 2015]. Later in life, xerosis and/or rubbery skin can be observed.
Congenital cardiac defects, which are seldom seen, vary. The following were observed among 12 individuals with cardiac or aortic defects: ventricular septal defect (n=2) [Hartley et al 2010, Bick et al 2017]; atrial septal defect (n=2) [Chong et al 2015, Lee et al 2016a]; tetralogy of Fallot (n=1) [Hartley et al 2010]. Others had a bicuspid aortic valve with or without other anomalies, an aortic defect, or a mildly dilated aortic sinus.
Platelets can be enlarged with no known functional defect [Hartley et al 2010].
Facial dysmorphism that is mild and nonspecific is observed in nearly all affected individuals. The main findings (coarse features, a wide forehead, broad nasal root, and hypertelorism) can become more apparent with time [Fabre & Badens 2014, Fabre et al 2014].
Findings observed in a few affected individuals that could be part of the phenotypic spectrum of THES or unrelated findings include the following:
One individual each: