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Triply discordant triplets: probability, management options, and risks.

The spontaneous occurrence of triplets is rare. With increased utilization of "assisted reproductive technologies," multifetal gestations have become more common. The empiric fetal risk for major malformation is approximately 3%. In a triplet pregnancy each fetus independently carries this risk so that the probability of having at least one malformed fetus is approximately 9%. It is much less likely to have 2 or 3 simultaneously but discordantly malformed fetuses in a multizygotic triplet gestation (.09% and .0027% risk, respectively). We report on the first case, to our knowledge, of an ovulation-stimulated triplet pregnancy complicated by 3-way discordance for major malformations diagnosed in the late second trimester by ultrasound. Fetus A was affected by congenital diaphragmatic hernia and trisomy 21; fetus B had encephalocele, a midline facial defect, and a cleft palate; and fetus C had evidence of unilateral claw hand but an otherwise normal fetal survey. At 19 weeks of gestation, fetus A was found to have spontaneously died, and a selective termination of triplet B was performed. We conclude: (1) the finding of a single major malformation in one fetus should lead to extensive search for malformations in all members of the pregnancy, and (2) the simultaneous occurrence of major malformations in more than one member of a multifetal gestation is a circumstance under which multiple selective termination deserves consideration. In this article we discuss important issues and caveats in the performance of selective termination for abnormal members of multifetal gestations.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

Identical twins with Weissenbacher-Zweymüller syndrome and neural tube defect.

Neurologic abnormalities have been described only once previously in a child with Weissenbacher-Zweymüller syndrome (WZS), a rare skeletal dysplasia, evident neonatally. We report on identical twin male infants with skeletal findings typical of WZS, including small size at birth, proximal limb shortness, mid face hypoplasia, and myopia. In addition, twin B had a parieto occipital encephalocele while twin A had a meningocele at the same location. Twin B has had significant delays in development and hearing loss.

Child, Preschool↗

Knobloch syndrome in a large Brazilian consanguineous family: confirmation of autosomal recessive inheritance.

Knobloch syndrome is a rare genetic disorder characterized by high myopia, vitreoretinal degeneration with retinal detachment and occipital cephalocele. The inheritance has been described as autosomal recessive (AR) but in addition to the original report with 5 affected patients [Knobloch and Layer, 1971] only one other family with 2 affected sibs has been described [Czeizel et al., 1992]. We have studied a large consanguineous kindred in which there are 12 patients with severe ocular alterations associated with a congenital occipital encephalocele, compatible with the diagnosis of Knobloch syndrome. CT scan and MRI performed in one of the patients, allowed a better understanding of the cranial and ocular alterations in this syndrome. The pattern of occurrence in this highly inbred family clearly confirms autosomal recessive inheritance of Knobloch syndrome.

Adolescent↗

DK-phocomelia syndrome in a child with a long follow-up.

We report on an 8-year-old boy with a pattern of multiple congenital anomalies that strongly suggest DK-phocomelia syndrome. Birth findings included bilateral upper limb amelia, occipital encephalocele, agenesis of the corpus callosum, right auricular tag, scoliosis, small penis, and cryptorchidism. Dental malocclusion was observed in the follow-up. This is the first case with on 8-year follow-up report of DK-phocomelia syndrome.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

von Voss-Cherstvoy syndrome: a variable perinatally lethal syndrome of multiple congenital anomalies.

We report 4 cases and review 7 from the literature with a pattern suggesting a variable early lethal multiple congenital anomaly syndrome. This was first reported by von Voss et al. [1979: "Klinische Genetik in der Pädiatrie," pp 70-74] and Cherstvoy et al. [1980: Lancet ii:485], and can affect upper limbs, face, brain, heart, lungs, urogenital and gastrointestinal systems, vertebrae and ribs, and can include thrombocytopenia. The initial cases had occipital encephaloceles and phocomelia, but milder cerebellar anomalies and radial ray defects may be seen instead. Both sexes are affected and parental age is not increased. This may be heterogeneous, but two consanguineous families, one with recurrences, suggest autosomal recessive inheritance in at least some instances, although the recurrences had milder brain findings than the other cases. The original designation of DK-phocomelia syndrome is inaccurate, since arm findings may be limited to radial anomalies; we suggest instead the von Voss-Cherstvoy syndrome. This may be heterogeneous, but at present, phenotypic overlap prevents differentiation of subgroups. The disorder appears to be part of a group of syndromes with radial and hematologic abnormalities.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

Dandy-Walker malformation in the Meckel syndrome.

The Meckel syndrome (MS) is an autosomal recessive disorder classically defined by the triad of occipital encephalocele, multicystic kidneys, and polydactyly. Here we describe 3 sibs with varying manifestations of MS. The propositus had isolated cystic renal disease. The other sibs were both prenatally diagnosed with renal disease, polydactyly, and the Dandy-Walker malformation, an unusual central nervous system defect in MS. These findings are discussed in the context of the phenotypic expression of MS and the nosology of this disorder and the cerebro-reno-digital (Meckel-like) syndromes.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

Cranial dysraphism mistaken for trephination.

Attention is called to a disputed diagnosis of trephination reported for a perforated skull of a prehistoric New England Indian. The perforation, surrounded by a saucer-like depression, is located exactly in the midline just in front of bregma. The finding of a similar lesion in a prehistoric Indian skull from the North Coast of Peru--where, as in New England, good evidence of the practice of trephination is lacking--provides support for a more reasonable diagnosis for both cases: congenital cranial dysraphism, specifically encephalocele. Information about dysraphic states from modern clinical experience is summarized.

Anthropology, Physical↗

Association of paternal age with prevalence of selected birth defects.

BACKGROUND: Unlike maternal age, the effect of paternal age on birth defect prevalence has not been well examined. We used cases from the Texas birth defect registry, born during 1996-2002, to evaluate the association of paternal age with the prevalence of selected structural birth defects. METHODS: Poisson regression was used to calculate prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) associated with paternal age for each birth defect, adjusting for maternal age, race/ethnicity, and parity. RESULTS: Relative to fathers ages 25-29 years, fathers 20-24 years of age were more likely to have offspring with gastroschisis (PR 1.47, 95% CI: 1.12-1.94), and fathers 40+ years old were less likely to have offspring with trisomy 13 (PR 0.40, 95% CI: 0.16-0.96). No association was seen between paternal age and prevalence of anencephaly and encephalocele. A selection bias was observed for the other birth defects in which cases of younger fathers were more often excluded from study. CONCLUSIONS: In studies of birth defect risk and paternal age, the source of information may affect the validity of findings.

Adult↗

Management of the congenital midline nasal mass: a review.

The nasal encephalocele, the glioma, and the dermoid are the most common of the congenital midline nasal masses. Due to similar embryologic development, each of these lesions may be associated with bony cranial defects and intracranial abnormalities, as well as CSF leakage and the potential for fatal meningitis if not handled properly. Properative manipulation should be avoided. Radiologic studies are instructive only if they are positive. If intracranial attachments are identified radiologically or suspected clinically, neurosurgical consultation should be obtained, and intracranial exploration and resection should be carried out as the initial procedure. Extra-cranial resection of the remaining mass may be performed immediately after intracranial resection, may be postponed, or may become unnecessary.

Dermoid Cyst↗

Knobloch syndrome: novel mutations in COL18A1, evidence for genetic heterogeneity, and a functionally impaired polymorphism in endostatin.

Knobloch syndrome (KNO) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by high myopia, vitreoretinal degeneration with retinal detachment, and congenital encephalocele. Pathogenic mutations in the COL18A1 gene on 21q22.3 were recently identified in KNO families. Analysis of two unrelated KNO families from Hungary and New Zealand allowed us to confirm the involvement of COL18A1 in the pathogenesis of KNO and to demonstrate the existence of genetic heterogeneity. Two COL18A1 mutations were identified in the Hungarian family: a 1-bp insertion causing a frameshift and a premature in-frame stop codon and an amino acid substitution. This missense variant is located in a conserved amino acid of endostatin, a cleavage product of the carboxy-terminal domain of collagen alpha 1 XVIII. D1437N (D104N in endostatin) likely represents a pathogenic mutation, as we show that the endostatin N104 mutant is impaired in its affinity towards laminin. Linkage to the COL18A1 locus was excluded in the New Zealand family, providing evidence for the existence of a second KNO locus. We named the second unmapped locus for Knobloch syndrome KNO2. Mutation analysis excluded COL15A1, a member of the multiplexin collagen subfamily similar to COL18A1, as being responsible for KNO2.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Prenatal diagnosis of recurrence of cystic hygroma with normal chromosomes.

Cyst-like masses in the neck and back region, simulating an encephalocele, were detected by midtrimester ultrasound examinations in two sib fetuses. After termination, the fetuses were found to have large cystic hygromas. The present observation strongly suggests the existence of an autosomal recessive type of cystic hygroma.

Adult↗

First-trimester diagnosis of hydrolethalus syndrome in a Chinese family.

We report a case resembling hydrolethalus syndrome in a Chinese family. Fetal polydactyly, syndactyly, encephalocele and cardiac malformation were detected on ultrasound examination at 12 weeks' gestation. Termination of pregnancy was performed, and postmortem examination confirmed the findings. This is the first report of a first-trimester prenatal diagnosis of hydrolethalus syndrome in the Chinese population.

Adult↗

A screen for mutations in human homologues of mice exencephaly genes Tfap2alpha and Msx2 in patients with neural tube defects.

BACKGROUND: Very little is known about the identity of genetic factors involved in the complex etiology of nonsyndromic neural tube defects (NTD). Potential susceptibility genes have emerged from the vast number of mutant mouse strains displaying NTD. Reasonable candidates are the human homologues of mice exencephaly genes Tfap2alpha and Msx2, which are expressed in the developing neural tube. METHODS: A single-strand conformation analysis (SSCA) mutation screen of the coding sequences of TFAP2alpha and MSX2 was performed for 204 nonsyndromic NTD patients including cases of anencephaly (n = 10), encephalocele (n = 8), and spina bifida aperta, SBA (n = 183). A selected number of SBA patients was additionally tested for specific mutations in MTHFD, FRalpha, and PAX1 already shown to be related to NTD. RESULTS: Two TFAP2alpha point mutations in individual SBA patients were silent on the amino acid level (C308C, T396T). On nucleic acid level, these mutations change evolutionary conserved codons and thus may influence mRNA processing and translation efficiency. One SBA patient displayed an exonic 9-bp deletion in MSX2 leading to a shortened and possibly less functional protein. None of these mutations was found in 222 controls. Seven polymorphisms detected in TFAP2alpha and MSX2 were equally distributed in patients and controls. Patients with combined heterozygosity of an exonic MSX2 and an intronic TFAP2alpha polymorphism were at a slightly increased risk of NTD (OR 1.71; 95% CI 0.57-5.39). CONCLUSIONS: Although several new genetic variants were found in TFAP2 and MSX2, no statistically significant association was found between NTD cases and the new alleles or their combinations. Further studies are necessary to finally decide if these gene variants may have acted as susceptibility factors in our individual cases.

Alleles↗

Exencephaly in fetal hamsters following exposure to hyperthermia.

Exposure of pregnant hamsters on gestation day 8 to 40 or 41 degrees C for one hour caused an increased rate of resorption and a high frequency of exencephaly and encephalocele. Longer exposures often killed pregnant females. Hamsters that had fetuses with abnormalities usually experienced body temperature elevations of 3-4 degrees C above normal (37 degrees C).

Animals↗

The effects of cytochalasins on the ultrastructure of neurulating hamster embryos in vivo.

Single intraperitoneal injections of cytochalasin B (CB) in dimethylsulfoxide were given to gravid Syrian hamsters on the eighth day of pregnancy at various dose levels. Exencephaly and encephalocele, the only defects which were seen in the term litters, occurred in dose-response patterns reaching peak frequencies of 14.9% and 53.2%, respectively, at the highest dose level, while accompanied by a mortality of 27.7% of implantations. Although these abnormalities were the same as those resulting from cytochalasin D (CD) treatment at this time, the frequencies were lower and the distribution of defects somewhat different. Morphological comparison of embryos fixed at various times after maternal treatment with 7.0 mg/kg CB or 1.5 mg/kg CD demonstrated qualitatively similar changes in response to either teratogen, leading to failure of the cranial neural folds to approximate and close. The principal ultrastructural changes involved alterations in the topography of the apical membranes of neuroectoderm cells. At doses which produced high frequencies of gross defects in the term litters, no changes were seen in the apical bundles of microfilaments in these cells, although much higher dose levels did disrupt these structures. The results support the hypothesis that the cell membrane is the primary target of these teratogens in vivo.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗

Normal and abnormal midfacial development in the cadmium-treated hamster.

Clefts of the midface ranging in severity from a notched lip to complete facial disorganization were observed in the offspring of golden hamsters injected with cadmium chloride on the morning of the eighth day of gestation. Other malformations frequently observed were microphthalmia, anophthalmia, and diencephalic encephaloceles. Histologic examination of embryos on the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th days of gestation revealed a marked deficiency of mesenchyme in the frontonasal process, which led to a foreshortened and deformed nasal septum. These data confirm that the teratogenicity of cadmium is highly specific for the region of the anterior neural segment on the eighth day of gestation. The deficiency of mesenchyme in the frontonasal process may be the result of disruption in neural crest cell development in this region.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗

An epidemiologic study of neural tube defects in Los Angeles County I. Prevalence at birth based on multiple sources of case ascertainment.

Epidemiologic studies of the neural tube defects (NTDs), anencephalus and spina bifida, have for the most part been based on single sources of case ascertainment in past studies. The present investigation attempts total ascertainment of NTD cases in the newborn population of Los Angeles County residents for the period 1966-1972. Design of the study, sources of data, and estimates of prevalence rates based on single and multiple sources of case ascertainment are here discussed. Anencephalus cases totaled 448, spina bifida 442, and encephalocele 72, giving prevalence rates of 0.52, 0.51, and 0.08 per 1000 total births, respectively, for these neural tube defects--rates considered to be low. The Los Angeles County prevalence rates are compared with those of other recent North American studies and support is provided for earlier suggestions of low rates on the West Coast.

Anencephaly↗

Incidence and potentiation of external and internal fetal anomalies resulting from chlordiazepoxide and amitriptyline alone and in combination.

The teratogenic potential of a combination of chlordiazepoxide (Cdz) and amitriptyline (Amt) was examined with regard to both internal and external anomalies. Timed pregnant golden hamsters were given a single intraperitoneal injection on day 8 of gestation of one of the following: chlordiazepoxide hydrochloride (28.5 mg/kg), amitriptyline hydrochloride (70.3 mg/kg), Cdz-Amt combination (28.5 mg/kg Cdz + 70.3 mg/kg Amt, in order to retain the 1:2.5 dose ratio utilized in a clinically-used preparation of these agents), or saline vehicle (control). Fetuses were recovered on gestation day 15 following maternal sacrifice. Cranial malformations were analyzed in Bouin's-fixed fetuses by making 1-mm coronal sections through each head, whereas visceral anomalies were examined following general dissection of each body. Amt alone produced a significant (P less than 0.05) incidence of bent tail and encephalocele, whereas Cdz significantly (P less than 0.05) altered the male:female ratio of surviving fetuses when compared with saline-injected controls. The Cdz-Amt combination caused significant increases in cranial malformations, open eye, bent tail, abnormal lung, and urogenital anomalies. The teratogenic effects of potentiation between the components of this combination are discussed in terms of external and internal malformations.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗