Lesch-Nyhan syndrome: evidence for abnormal adrenergic function.

Subjects with the Lesch-Nyhan syndrome (hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase deficiency with self-mutilation) exhibit an apparently unique pattern of adrenergic dysfunction characterized by elevated plasma dopamine beta-hydroxylase activity and an absence of pressor response to acute sympathetic stimulation. Patients with a partial deficiency of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase without self-mutilation do not exhibit these abnormalities of adrenergic function.