Evidence Regarding Metachromatic Leukodystrophy Newborn Screening

Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) is a lysosomal disorder affecting about 1 per 100,000 newborns. It is caused by biallelic variations in the arylsulfatase A (ARSA) gene, leading to deficiency of ARSA enzyme activity leading to elevation of sulfatides. Most affected individuals have the late-infantile or early-juvenile phenotype, associated with significant and progressive neurologic degeneration and death. For these phenotypes, treatment with a lentiviral gene therapy in infancy can improve survival and motor function. However, in the absence of screening or an affected older sibling, most cases are diagnosed much later. A two-tiered newborn screen, based on the presence of elevated sulfatides in dried-blood spots followed by finding low ARSA enzyme activity, can accurately identify newborns with the early-onset phenotypes of MLD for timely gene therapy. An MLD screening study with consent is ongoing in 8 hospitals in New York City and population-based newborn screening has been implemented in several regions in Europe. Although the false-positive rate is low, only one of these MLD newborn screening activities, in Hannover, Germany, has reported identifying cases. At least four newborn screening programs in the United States are in the process of implementing MLD screening.