MITERA Children’s Hospital: New Department of Inborn Metabolic Diseases & Inherited Lipid Disorders

23 January 2019

The first to operate within a private hospital in Greece

A new Department of Inborn Metabolic Diseases & Inherited Lipid Disorders, the first to operate within a private hospital in Greece, has been established at MITERA Children’s Hospital, a member of HYGEIA Group.

It is yet another milestone for the Hospital, in its quest to continuously upgrade its services, to the benefit of children and their families.

Inborn Metabolic Diseases are attributed to gene disorders inherited from the parents, which can cause damages to multiple organs, such as the brain, liver, heart and so on. The main symptoms are usually presented for the first time immediately after birth, while they continue through childhood and adulthood. These may include spasms, encephalopathy, failure to thrive, chronic diarrhea, enlarged liver, bone disorders, hypoglycemia, elevated uric acid, cholesterol, triglyceride and Lp(a) levels, etc.

As noted by the Department Director, Dr Euridiki Drogari, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Athens & Honorary Professor of Metabolic Medicine at University College London (UCL) Specielist in Inborn Metabolic Diseases, “MITERA Children’s Hospital has all the latest treatments available, in line with international standards, and offers comprehensive diagnosis based on the clinical condition of the neonate or older children/adolescents, as well as through medical exams, such as additional neonatal screening, biochemical, metabolic, lipid and molecular testing. This ensures accurate diagnosis and symptomatic treatment of various inherited metabolic conditions. In special cases, the samples may be forwarded to dedicated centers abroad for testing.”

The MITERA Children’s Hospital Endogenous Metabolic Diseases & Inherited Lipid Disorders Department runs two separate regular clinics, by appointment:

1. Inherited Lipid Disorder Clinic – This Clinic mainly performs early detection of atheromatous vascular disease in children from  young age. The aim is to avoid, to the extent possible, conditions that may develop in young adulthood, such as myocardial coronary disease, stroke, etc. The most common inherited disorder is familial hypercholesterolemia, which is the most common genetic disease worldwide, with an incidence of 1:250 childbirths Therefore, it is necessary for children to undergo their first tests for cholesterol triglycerides, HDL, LDL and Lp(a) in the 2nd – 3rd year of their lives, when their cholesterol levels have stabilized.
2. Inborn Metabolic Diseases Clinic – Special treatment is required for rare Inborn Metabolic Diseases, once they have been accurately diagnosed. There are many metabolic diseases (around 700) and they are usually underdiagnosed. Diagnosis is performed in collaboration with other specialists, such as neurologists, developmental specialists, liver specialists, gastroenterologists, cardiologists, kidney specialists, dietitians, etc.