You are here

Article Text

Article menu
Download PDFPDF
Case report
Mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) syndrome in pregnancy
  1. Deepa Balachandran Nair1,2,
  2. Mariana Bloomfield2,
  3. Rajeswari Parasuraman3 and
  4. David T Howe3
  1. 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Aylesbury, UK
  2. 2Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK
  3. 3Wessex Fetal Medicine Unit, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Deepa Balachandran Nair; manodeepam{at}hotmail.com

Abstract

The syndrome of mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) is a rare mitochondrial disease with few documented cases in pregnancy. In this case report, we discuss the presentation and management of a 39-year-old grand multiparous lady with MELAS syndrome, which was diagnosed prior to her eighth pregnancy, discuss potential implications of the condition in pregnancy and summarise the current guidelines for the management of this rare condition.

  • pregnancy
  • epilepsy and seizures
  • stroke
  • genetic screening / counselling
  • metabolic disorders

https://doi.org/10.1136/bcr-2020-235111

Statistics from Altmetric.com

    Request Permissions

    If you wish to reuse any or all of this article please use the link below which will take you to the Copyright Clearance Center’s RightsLink service. You will be able to get a quick price and instant permission to reuse the content in many different ways.

    View Full Text

    Footnotes

    • DBN and MB are joint first authors.

    • Contributors MB and DBN drafted the initial article, analysed and interpreted the case and reviewed the literature. DTH and RP revised the manuscript critically. All authors listed on the manuscript have seen and approved the submitted letter and take full responsibility for the manuscript.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.