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[Microcephalic children without mental retardation].

8 microcephalic children, mean age 3.06 years, with head circumferences -3.5 SD to -6 SD, achieved IQ scores of 79-115 on the Thermann, WPPSI, WISC-R, and/or Columbia tests. They had no dysmorphic features nor congenital anomalies, and their fundi were normal. 7 had congenital microcephaly, associated with proven autosomal dominant heritage in 3, 1 had suspected autosomal recessive heritage, 1 had intrauterine growth retardation (overall smallness), 1 had cerebral palsy, and in 1 there was an unknown prenatal cause. 6 of these children had 1 or 2 developmental disabilities, including neurosensory deafness, cerebral palsy, short attention span, perceptual dysfunctions, and learning disability. Microcephaly, most probably secondary to malnutrition in early infancy, was diagnosed in 1 child without developmental disabilities. However, our data support the concept that some microcephalic children with significantly small head circumference, who function without mental retardation, have a high incidence of other developmental disabilities.

Child↗

Direct transmission of the 18q- syndrome from mother to daughter.

A 34-year-old mother presented moderate mental retardation, short stature, microcephaly, and characteristic facial dysmorphism. Her 12-year-old daughter manifested moderate mental retardation, short stature, microcephaly, dysplastic external ear canals, hearing impairment, and characteristic facial dysmorphism. Cytogenetic analysis of the family revealed a normal karyotype, 46,XY, in the father, and a 46,XX,del(18)(q22.2) karyotype in both mother and daughter. Molecular marker analysis determined direct transmission of the distal 18q deletion from mother to daughter. The present case provides evidence of fertility of the affected females and a mother-to-daughter direct transmission in the familial 18q- syndrome. Identification of affected females with the 18q- syndrome should include genetic counseling of possible direct transmission and consideration of birth control or prenatal genetic testing at reproductive age.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

[Epidemiological survey of central nervous system anomalies and the implications of teratogens].

One of the aims of epidemiologic surveillance is to assess the role of environmental factors acting during pregnancy (teratogens) in abnormal development of the nervous system. The data of Eurocat, a european system of congenital anomaly surveillance, was analysed and evaluated. Great geographical variation is observed in the prevalence of neural tube defects. Geographical variation in the prevalence of microcephaly, hydrocephaly and holoprosencephaly, may be related to problems of definition, validation and precision of diagnosis. A better definition of the unit of surveillance is required for anomalies where phenotypic heterogeneity is linked to aetiologic heterogeneity (such as neural tube defects) and for anomalies which range from minor to major forms (such as microcephaly). The strengths and deficiencies of the surveillance system for central nervous system anomalies are revealed by its performance in the evaluation of the Chernobyl accident.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗

[Seckel's syndrome].

The case of a girl with Seckel syndrome, born of an epileptic mother who was taking anticonvulsant drugs, is reported. The patient, admitted to our clinic for short stature, presented some signs of Seckel syndrome: microcephaly, a "bird headed" profile with receding chin and forehead and large beaked nose. Microcephaly and a low birth weight are present in Seckel syndrome, but also in the newborn of epileptic mothers who received anticonvulsive drugs. In the present paper the Authors questioned if the described syndrome was caused by the use of antiepileptic drugs during pregnancy, or epilepsy of the mother, or if it was casual.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗

A craniometric study of the C. de Lange syndrome (CdLS).

After a short review of our method, we compared the results of the radiographs of 18 cases of CdLS to the results of our normal material. All of our normal statistical data was obtained from AP and lateral view radiographs at a distance of 1 m, in the prevailing conditions of everyday practice in a radiological department. We studied quantitative changes such as microcephaly and brachycephaly, and for the first time we introduced qualitative changes such as occipital rotation and the study of obliquity of the foramen magnum (line BAO). We found microcephaly in all our cases of CdLS and brachycephaly in only 72%. Furthermore, we found a lack of positive occipital rotation in all our cases of CdLS and the line BAO turned posteriorly with O higher than BA. The same conditions were observed on our normal material only in an early postnatal stage.

Cephalometry↗

Maternal cocaine use during pregnancy: effect on the newborn infant.

The newborn infants of 56 mothers who used cocaine were prospectively studied in to determine the effects of cocaine. There were no differences with respect to maternal preeclampsia or cesarean section rate. Meconium-stained amniotic fluid was increased (10 of 56 cases [17.8%]) compared with the control group (3 of 56 cases [5.3%]) (X2 = 4.2, P less than .05). Fetal distress recorded with fetal monitoring and Apgar scores at 1 and 5 minutes were similar. The weight, length, and head circumference growth curves of the infants born to cocaine-using mothers were shifted below the 25th percentile. Microcephaly was present in 12 of 56 (21.4%) infants whose mothers used cocaine during pregnancy (X2 = 5.96, P less than .01), and 15 of 56 (26.7%) had intrauterine growth retardation (X2 = 9.53, P less than .01) compared with the control infants (2 of 5 [3.5%] and 3 of 56 [5.3%], respectively). There was no increase in teratogenicity. Neither narcotic withdrawal symptoms nor illness could distinguish the infants born of cocaine-using mothers from the control infants. In conclusion, cocaine use during pregnancy results in newborn infants with growth retardation and microcephaly.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗

Toluene embryopathy: delineation of the phenotype and comparison with fetal alcohol syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if maternal toluene abuse produces any structural or developmental disabilities in the developing fetus, a cohort of toluene-exposed infants was ascertained and examined. METHODOLOGY: Eighteen infants with a history of in utero toluene exposure were examined at birth. Nine of these infants were reexamined 3 to 36 months after their initial evaluations. The clinical findings in these patients were compared with those of similarly exposed children from the literature and with patients who had the fetal alcohol syndrome. RESULTS: Thirty-nine percent of all toluene-exposed infants described in this and other studies were born prematurely, and 9% died during the perinatal period. Fifty-four percent were small for gestational age, and 52% exhibited continued postnatal growth deficiency. A 33% incidence of prenatal microcephaly, a 67% incidence of postnatal microcephaly, and an 80% incidence of developmental delay were observed. Eighty-three percent of the patients had craniofacial features similar to the fetal alcohol syndrome, and 89% of these children had other minor anomalies. CONCLUSIONS: Data from the patients herein described and the available scientific literature suggest that the mechanism of alcohol craniofacial teratogenesis may be nonspecific, with a variety of teratogens, including toluene, giving rise to phenotypic facial abnormalities similar to those of the fetal alcohol syndrome. We propose a common mechanism of craniofacial teratogenesis for toluene and alcohol, namely a deficiency of craniofacial neuroepithelium and mesodermal components due to increased embryonic cell death.

Abnormalities, Drug-Induced↗

[Embryofetopathy of the newborn infant of a phenylketonuric mother. A diagnosis not to be missed].

Children with phenylketonuria (PKU) detected in the neonatal period and who have received the appropriate diet develop normally whatever their sex. However, female PKU patients who, before becoming pregnant, do not take the precaution to follow a diet bringing phenylalanine to "normal levels" (2 to 5 mg in 100 ml of blood) give birth to children presenting with severe embryofoetal damage (e.g. intrauterine growth retardation, microcephaly, mental retardation, various malformations) directly due to their hyperphenylalaninaemia (20 mg or more in 100 ml of blood under a free diet). It is important to know these facts, since the benefits of systematic neonatal PKU detection may be cancelled by this late complication. The therapeutic approach in such cases is a follows: 1. Young women with known PKU must be informed of this risk and how it can be avoided by a preconception therapeutic diet. This means that they must permanently reside in the same geographical area, receive an adequate information at the end of puberty, use and effective contraception method and program their pregnancies preceded by a return to low phenylalanine diet. 2. Doctors must remember that because PKU detection has not become systematic until 1978, PKU girls of child-bearing are remain undetected, that they are not always mentally debilitated and can normally five birth to children with embryofoetal damage. In case of e.g. unexplained intrauterine growth retardation or microcephaly, it is necessary to perform a Guthrie test on the woman, since a prenatal diagnosis may lead to therapeutic abortion, and a postnatal diagnosis to a genetic counselling which will avoid recurrences.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

[Aplasia and hypoplasia of the optic nerve. Comparison of 2 cases].

Hypoplasia and aplasia of the optic nerve are congenital anomalies characterized respectively by a marked volume reduction (very small papilla, often identifiable only as a rosy-yellowish area from which the retinal vessels emerge) and by the absence of the optic disk (absence of the nerve and mainly of its vessels) and of the visual functions. These anomalies are often associated with malformations of the central nervous system and of the ocular structures. The defects originate in the embryonal period due to the arrested development of the mesodermal component towards the head of the optic nerve. The aim of this study is to try to interpret the different clinical manifestations of the disease by observing two cases (a female and a male) with a clinical picture of aplasia and hypoplasia of the optic nerve respectively. Both cases presented the following clinical characteristics: developmental defects of the optic nerve, severe microcephaly, positive IgG antibodies against CMV. The association of the optic nerve defect with microcephaly is due to the embryogenic origin of the optic vescicle by prosencephalon. The resulting clinical picture is probably the outcome of an interfering process that the authors have presumed in CMV intrauterine infection, after having excluded the most frequent teratogenic agents (maternal diabetes, tabagism, intake of alcohol ad drugs). Moreover, the different degree of ocular involvement and the different time of onset of the intrauterine pathogenic insult in the two cases could account for the different clinical pictures.

Cytomegalovirus Infections↗

Interstitial deletion 2q33.3-q34 in a boy with a phenotype resembling the Seckel syndrome.

A boy presented at 5 weeks with a syndrome of pre- and postnatal growth retardation, microcephaly, muscular hypotonia, and facial anomalies resembling those seen in Seckel syndrome or microcephalic primordial dwarfism I. Analysis of prometaphase chromosomes, fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), and molecular studies showed the presence of a de novo chromosome 2 deletion that could be defined as del(2)(q33.3q34)pat. Parental chromosomes were normal, except for the presence of a paternal supernumerary marker identified by FISH as der(15). On follow-up of the patient during the next months length development appeared normal and the diagnosis of Seckel syndrome was withdrawn. Clinical findings of previously published cases with interstitial deletion of at least 2q33.3-q34, the deletion present in the propositus, are reviewed and include pre- and postnatal growth retardation, psychomotor retardation, microcephaly, micrognathia, and abnormal/low-set ears; findings also present in the propositus. These findings resemble those described in the Seckel syndrome. Noteworthy is the finding that 2/3 of the 60 reviewed cases originally reported as having Seckel syndrome apparently belong to a heterogeneous group of low birth weight microcephalic dwarfism I yet to be clearly defined. In these patients no chromosome 2q deletion has been reported so far. Retrospective analysis could show if a subgroup of these patients carry submicroscopic deletions at 2q33.3-q34. Alternatively, molecular analysis of this region may be warranted in newly diagnosed patients with Seckel syndrome-like manifestations.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

Myotonic dystrophy. The role of large triplet repeat length in the development of mental retardation.

OBJECTIVE: To describe mental retardation and microcephaly as initial clinical signs in myotonic dystrophy (MD) with high trinucleotide repeats. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Two patients with maternally inherited MD were examined. Southern blot analysis was performed and trinucleotide repeat expansions were related to the findings of clinical and magnetic resonance imaging investigations. RESULTS: Both patients had the large CTG trinucleotide repeat expansions often seen in congenital MD, but they lacked the typical clinical signs. Mental retardation and microcephaly were the leading features present in infancy. Muscular weakness, in contrast, developed after age 35 years. Although there was no evidence for perinatal asphyxia or sleep apnea, magnetic resonance imaging disclosed reduced brain volume and subcortical demyelination. CONCLUSIONS: Mental retardation preceding the development of muscle weakness suggests that the cerebral involvement in MD is a direct consequence of the genetic disorder and not mediated by muscle disease. Careful clinical examination of the parents for signs of MD should be considered in patients with cognitive deficits even without apparent muscular involvement.

Adult↗

Ring 4 chromosome with terminal p and q deletions.

A ring 4 chromosome was found in a boy with low birth weight, microcephaly, micrognathia, rounded broad nose, malformed ears, cleft soft palate, and retardation in growth and development. The ring 4 is formed by union of the ends after breakage and loss of the terminal parts of the short (p) arm and the long (q) arm. G-banded chromosome studies showed our patient to have a union at p16q35. Clinical findings in our patient were compared with those in others with the union at p16q35, p15q35, and p16q33. The patients with p15q35 had a deletion of more p-arm genetic material than those with the p16q35 union, and the patient with p16q33 had a greater loss of q-arm material. The loss of only a small part of the p16 band is associated with low birth weight, microcephaly, and retardation in growth and development.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

Expanded phenotype of cranioectodermal dysplasia (Sensenbrenner syndrome)

Cranioectodermal dysplasia (CED) is an autosomal recessive condition characterized by defects of ectoderm-derived structures and characteristic bone anomalies. We report on a 27-month-old Caucasian girl with CED, pre- and postnatal growth retardation, microcephaly, hypoplasia of the posterior corpus callosum, photophobia, and aberrant calcium homeostasis. Since new traits were encountered, we reviewed all reported patients and one unpublished case and compared the frequency rates of the individual manifestations. The findings present in all patients are dolichocephaly and rhizomelia. Ectodermal dysplasia manifestations are variable. Short thorax and heart defect are inconsistent. Previously unreported anomalies include growth deficiency, delayed psychomotor development, microcephaly, photophobia, and abnormal calcium homeostasis. These clinical manifestations may facilitate the diagnosis of this condition.

Adult↗

Duplication 6q22-->qter: definition of the phenotype.

We report on a girl with duplication of 6q22.32 --> qter and microcephaly, frontal bossing, facial anomalies, and webbed neck. She has congenital heart disease, renal hypoplasia, and hearing loss along with severe developmental delay. Published reports of seven other patients are reviewed and compared. The most frequent anomalies include microcephaly, abnormal face, webbed neck, congenital heart disease, limb contractures, and developmental delay.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

Thirteen cases of Niikawa-Kuroki syndrome: report and review with emphasis on medical complications and preventive management.

Eight new and five previously illustrated patients with Niikawa-Kuroki syndrome (NKS) are compared to those in the literature, providing data on 183 cases. Eight patients had disproportionate microcephaly and in one autopsied patient there was frontal lobe atrophy, focal polymicrogyria, and a hypoplastic fourth ventricle. The metacarpophalangeal pattern profiles of three Caucasian patients with NKS were similar to that of a prior case report, but those of two Hispanic patients were more variable. NKS was eliminated by follow-up in nine suspect cases, highlighting the diagnostic value of findings such as arched eyebrows, long palpebral fissures, flat nasal tip, and prominent finger pads. One patient suspected of having NKS had a very different metacarpophalangeal pattern profile, supporting its diagnostic utility in selected cases. Higher frequencies of neonatal complications, abnormal dentition, hypotonia, and microcephaly were noted in non-Asian patients with NKS, while a higher frequency of skeletal anomalies was seen in Japanese patients. Complications affecting cognitive, visual, hearing, cardiac, renal, skeletal, immune, and endocrinologic functions are translated into a program for preventive management. X chromosome anomalies are the most compelling of diverse genetic changes seen in NKS, and this report adds another case to several possible instances of vertical transmission. The 108 non-Asian patients now reported emphasize the worldwide significance of NKS recognition.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

Oculo-palatal-cerebral syndrome: a second case.

Oculo-palato-cerebral syndrome is an extremely rare disorder consisting of low birth weight, microcephaly, short stature, persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous, microphthalmia, large ears, small hands and feet, cleft palate, joint hypermobility, developmental delay, and cerebral atrophy. There has been one report of a consanguineous family with three affected children, suggesting autosomal recessive inheritance. We report on the second case of this disorder. Our patient, a 2-year-old boy, had growth delay, microcephaly, bilateral persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous with right microphthalmia, long ears with thickened helices, small hands and feet, highly arched palate, joint hypermobility, hypoplastic nails, frontal cerebral atrophy and thinning of the corpus callosum on brain magnetic resonance imaging, and mild developmental delay. He has much milder features than those seen in the previously reported cases.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

Lissencephaly type III, stippled epiphyses and loose, thick skin: a new recessively inherited syndrome.

We report on two new cases of syndromic lissencephaly in two consanguineous sibs, with skeletal abnormality, born to young, healthy, second cousin parents with healthy children. In Case 1, fetal ultrasound screening at 32 weeks of gestation showed microcephaly, skin infiltration and equinovarus feet. MRI disclosed cerebral agyria, hypoplastic cerebral mantle and posterior agenesis of the corpus callosum. The propositus, a boy, died soon after birth at term. In Case 2, fetal ultrasound study performed at 16 weeks of gestation disclosed skin infiltration. MRI at 22 weeks of gestation showed microcephaly with agenesis of corpus callosum and cerebellar hypoplasia. Pregnancy was terminated at 22 weeks of gestation. The fetus had normal 46, XY karyotype and similar anomalies found in the index case, with cranio-facial edema and arthrogryposis. X-ray films showed epiphyseal stippling of cervical vertebrae, feet and sacrum. Metacarpal bones were shortened with hypoplastic distal phalanges. Neuropathological findings were concordant with the pattern described in type III lissencephaly: an agyric brain with hypoplastic brain stem and cerebellum, severe neuronal loss of the cortical plate, matrix zone, basal ganglia, brainstem nuclei and spinal cord with axonal swelling and microcalcification. This entity seems to be a new syndromic lissencephaly type III, because of epiphyseal calcifications and metacarpophalangeal bone dysplasia.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

Cerebro-osseous-digital syndrome: four new cases of a lethal skeletal dysplasia--distinct from Neu-Laxova Syndrome.

Neu-Laxova Syndrome (NLS) is a severe disorder with intrauterine growth retardation, edema, and characteristic face (including microcephaly with receding forehead, protuberant eyes, a flattened nose, deformed ears, cleft palate, and micrognathia). Ichthyosis is often present. Limb anomalies include hypoplastic fingers and syndactyly of fingers and toes. Patients are usually stillborn or die shortly after birth. We report five unrelated patients--four with atypical NLS and one with typical NLS. All five patients were stillbirths. Clinically, the atypical NLS patients showed a large skull; rhizo-, meso-, and acromelia; and hypoplasia of the metacarpals and phalanges. The feet were similarly affected. Radiographically, the atypical patients showed interpediculate narrowing and hypoplastic vertebral bodies. The long bones were stick-like, showing diaphyseal widening that spared the metaphyses and was more pronounced in the lower extremities. The ilia had a half-moon configuration with widening of the sacrosciatic notches. The ischia were vertical and the pubic bone was absent. The typical NLS patient showed microcephaly, normal vertebral body, and long bone ossification, but a pelvic configuration similar to that of the atypical NLS patients. The common and distinguishing clinical and radiographic features are reviewed. Scott et al. [1981: Am J Med Genet 9:165-175] described two patients with NLS with radiographic and clinical findings similar to patients 1-4 reported here. Patients 1-4 of this report lack the typical findings of NLS and likely represent a distinct lethal skeletal dysplasia.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗