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IEMbase 0101: DBH-related dopamine beta-hydroxylase deficiency

Scope

Field Value
IEMbase ID 101
Nosology 23.1.03.01
Gene DBH
External IDs OMIM:223360
Generated mapping UNMAPPED
Candidate DisMech targets None; fuzzy candidate Congenital_Adrenal_Hyperplasia.yaml#11B-OHD is not valid
Review date 2026-07-07

IEMbase phenotype signal

IEMbase represents this as DBH-related dopamine beta-hydroxylase deficiency in the monoamine neurotransmission group. Treatability is marked yes, although the cached JSON has no treatment rows.

The biochemical signal is strong and specific: decreased CSF MHPG, increased plasma dopamine, very low plasma epinephrine and norepinephrine, increased CSF and urinary homovanillic acid, increased CSF and plasma L-dopa, decreased urinary VMA, very low plasma dopamine beta-hydroxylase, and low-to-normal plasma glucose in neonatal or infancy rows.

The clinical rows are behavioral disorder and syncope, with syncope becoming more prominent in adolescence and adulthood.

DisMech phenotype coverage

There is no valid local DBH deficiency target. The generated fuzzy candidate to Congenital_Adrenal_Hyperplasia.yaml#11B-OHD is a beta-hydroxylase lexical collision: 11-beta-hydroxylase congenital adrenal hyperplasia is a steroidogenic adrenal disorder, not dopamine beta-hydroxylase deficiency.

The Disorder_of_Catecholamine_Synthesis.yaml umbrella includes AADC, TH, recessive GTP cyclohydrolase I, sepiapterin reductase, and DNAJC12-related monoamine synthesis disease, but it does not currently include a DBH subtype or the norepinephrine/epinephrine-deficiency biochemical pattern.

Concordance and completeness

Judgement: true local gap.

IEMbase provides enough biochemical specificity to seed a future entry: dopamine is high while norepinephrine and epinephrine are very low, with low DBH enzyme activity and low VMA. DisMech currently has no place to capture that pattern except as a future expansion of monoamine/catecholamine disorder coverage.

Curation actions

  • Do not map this record to congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
  • Add a future standalone DBH deficiency entry or extend the catecholamine synthesis umbrella with a DBH subtype if that umbrella remains the preferred modeling level.
  • Capture syncope/orthostatic-autonomic presentation and the distinctive plasma catecholamine profile when curated.