[Transient hyperphosphatasemia in childhood. 4 new cases and review of the literature].

Transient hyperphosphatasemia of infancy is a biochemical syndrome characterized by a striking, transient increase in serum alkaline phosphatase in children without any evidence of bone or liver disease and of a familial occurrence. The abnormal isoenzyme pattern frequently observed in this syndrome may represent an excessively sialylated form of the liver isoenzyme, not normally removed from circulation. Here are described four new cases of this syndrome, followed biochemically and clinically until normalization of the serum abnormalities; a review of literature is also presented.