Medicina
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Editorial Historical Article
[The Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas Alfredo Lanari celebrates its 50 years of existence].
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Congenital metabolic diseases are considered as rare diseases because of their low incidence and their clinical symptoms at onset. Sometimes they can just begin in the neonatal period. Their progressive knowledge and the availability of specific and sensitive biochemical procedures allow us to diagnose many congenital metabolic diseases, which were not recognized some years ago. ⋯ In the first steps, the neuroimaging was less orientative, even if it allow the exclusion of other diseases. More than half of the patients with inborn errors of metabolism with onset in the neonatal period died within the first two years of life. It is really important to suspect these diseases in the neonatal period so as to achieve an early diagnosis and prompt therapy, specially with cofactors, that can reduce the morbimortality.