Major congenital malformations in Down syndrome.
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We describe in a five generation family four affected males with hydrocephalus (4 offspring/4 examined) due to aqueductal stenosis (3/3), symmetrical radial ray abnormalities (4/4), renal anomalies (2/3), anal atresia (3/4), hypoplastic penis/abnormal testes (2/3), and cardiac abnormalities (1/3). X-linked inheritance seems certain in this family. These abnormalities are characteristic of the rare X-linked VACTERL-H syndrome. In addition, one maternal female cousin had a severe tracheo-esophageal fistula. This may represent partial manifestation in a female carrier. Chromosomes were apparently normal (46XY) with no spontaneous or excess induced breakages in one of the affected offspring and his mother. In the absence of a genetic marker, diagnostic ultrasonography is the investigation of choice for early in utero detection of this syndrome. A confident ultrasonographic diagnosis was possible by 20 weeks in the 2 cases examined.
Previously we proposed that the VACTERL association represents a dysmorphogenetic response of the primary developmental field, i.e., polytopic developmental field defects (DFD). As such, it should conform to the essential attributes of a DFD, namely, heterogeneity, homology, and phylogeneity. To study its heterogeneity, we analyzed the data of the Spanish Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations (ECEMC). Our results confirm the observations indicating that the different patterns of defects that constitute this entity are not only clinically variable but also causally heterogeneous. This causal heterogeneity, which is of crucial importance in defining developmental fields, gives additional credence to the hypothesis that VACTERL constitutes a primary polytopic DFD.
The fetal gastro-intestinal (GI) tract contributes to alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels in amniotic fluid and hence to those in maternal serum (MS). This study retrospectively analysed results of second trimester MSAFP screening in cases of fetal GI tract obstruction. 18 cases of fetal GI obstruction were diagnosed amongst 17,036 women who underwent MSAFP screening between 1979 and 1997: seven had oesophageal atresia, four had duodenal atresia, six had anal atresia, and one had both anal and oesophageal atresia. MSAFP in pregnancies of a fetus with anal atresia was significantly lower than the population median. MSAFP in cases of fetal oesophageal or duodenal atresia was low but these differences did not reach significance.
Townes-Brocks syndrome (TBS) is an autosomal dominant developmental disorder characterized by anal and thumb malformations and by ear anomalies that can affect the three compartments and usually lead to hearing loss. The gene underlying TBS, SALL1, is a human homolog of the Drosophila spalt gene which encodes a transcription factor. A search for SALL1 mutations undertaken in 11 unrelated affected individuals (five familial and six sporadic cases) led to the detection of mutations in nine of them. One nonsense and six different novel frameshift mutations, all located in the second exon, were identified. Together with the previously reported mutations [Kohlhase et al., 1999], they establish that TBS results from haploinsufficiency. The finding of de novo mutations in the sporadic cases is consistent with the proposed complete penetrance of the disease. Moreover, the occurrence of the same 826C>T transition in a CG dimer, in three sporadic cases from the present series and three sporadic cases from the other series [Kohlhase et al., 1999] (i.e., six of the eight mutations identified in sporadic cases), reveals the existence of a mutation hotspot. Six different SALL1 polymorphisms were identified in the course of the present study, three of which are clustered in a particular region of the gene that encodes a stretch of serine residues. Finally, the chromosome 16 breakpoint of a t(5;16)(p15.3;q12.1) translocation carried by a TBS-affected individual was mapped at least 180 kb telomeric to SALL1, thus indicating that a position effect underlies the disease in this individual.
Interpretation of a complex chromosome rearrangement (CCR) using only G-band analysis is difficult and potentially inaccurate. We present two patients with de novo, partially cryptic, CCRs that illustrate both the value and limitations of using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) whole chromosome paint probes to characterize these types of rearrangements. In a patient referred because of features of Townes-Brocks syndrome, G-band analysis revealed an unbalanced CCR involving 3 chromosomes (2,11 and 16) and at least 4 breakpoints. A more complex rearrangement involving two cryptic insertions and at least 6 breakpoints, however, was detected using whole chromosome paint probes specific for the 3 chromosomes involved in the rearrangement. In this case, FISH studies were essential for accurate characterization of this patient's rearrangement. In a second patient, G-band analysis revealed that a 12-year-old male with obesity, small genitalia, attention deficit disorder, learning disabilities, and behavior problems, carried a CCR involving 4 chromosomes (3, 5, 10 and 13) with 6 breakpoints. This rearrangement seemed unbalanced, with missing terminal 3p26. 2-pter material. Our G-band interpretation of this karyotype was confirmed by FISH using whole chromosome paint probes specific for the involved chromosomes. Although no evidence of the "missing" 3pter material was observed using a chromosome 3 paint, FISH analysis using a chromosome 3p unique telomere probe identified telomeric 3p material on the distal long arm of the derivative 10 chromosome. This case illustrates the limited value of painting probes to detect small rearrangements, especially those involving terminal chromosome regions.
Anal atresia (AA) is observed per se or as part of different Mendelian or chromosomal syndromes, and as part of the VACTERL primary developmental field, CHARGE association, cloacal extrophy, in a mitochondrial cytopathy, and other multiple congenital anomaly patterns. There are only a few studies on the defects associated with AA, and in all of them it was observed that genitourinary defects are most frequent in infants with AA. Here we present the analysis of 28,410 malformed infants to study the frequency of 11 selected congenital defects in infants with AA in relation to their frequency in infants with multiple congenital anomaly patterns without AA. We conclude that the association of AA + spine defects + renal/urinary tract defects + genital defects constitutes a group of defects that tends to be present together in the same child because they are pathogenetically related, and since they are of blastogenetic origin they constitute a primary polytopic developmental field defect.
The clinical spectrum of caudal dysplasia sequence (CDS) is noted for its diversity. The origin of CDS remains unknown, though poorly controlled gestational diabetes has been implicated in some cases. Here we describe the case of a newborn with CDS associated with penile enlargement (PE). The main anomalies included anal atresia, agenesis of the kidneys and of the sacrococcygeal vertebrae, dysgenesis of lumbar vertebrae, and bilateral cryptorchidism. Penile enlargement (7 cm), a rather unusual finding, has so far not been reported in association with CDS. Chromosomal analysis failed, and the neonate died 30 min after birth. Comparative genomic hybridization analysis using stored DNA showed a balanced normal male DNA content, which negates chromosomal losses or gains as a cause of CDS and/or PE. PE due to virilizing-type adrenal hyperplasia, caused by common mutations in the genes encoding for the adrenal enzymes 21-hydroxylase and 11-hydroxylase, was ruled out. We report on a previously unpublished case of the coexistence of PE and severe CDS and propose a possible pathogenetic hypothesis of this association.
We report a rare facial cleft (type 2 according to the Tessier classification) as the first presenting echographic sign of the oculo-auriculo-vertebral spectrum (OAVS) (Goldenhar syndrome). Associated malformations included a left lateral cleft with macrostomia, left ear hypoplasia, left preauricular tag, single umbilical artery, hyposegmentation of the left lung and imperforatio ani.
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We report on two patients with an unusual combination of multiple congenital anomalies including holoprosencephaly, encephalocele, and additional defects commonly observed in the VACTERL and schisis "associations." One of the infants had a chromosome abnormality characterized by partial duplication and deletion of chromosome 18. VACTERL association was characterized recently as a primary developmental field defect (DFD) [Martínez-Frías et al., 1998: Am J Med Genet 76:291-296]. In some cases, sequences may also represent uncomplicated DFDs. We suggest that findings in both of these cases represent abnormalities of blastogenesis involving the primary field resulting in holoprosencephaly and VACTERL and schisis anomalies, and show that similar primary DFDs are causally heterogeneous.
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This study was undertaken to find a strict, unbiased epidemiological delineation of the VATER non-random association of congenital malformations and, based on registry information, to identify a group of probable VATER association infants suitable for etiological analyses. Information on 5,260 infants with multiple malformations was collected from four large registers of congenital malformations. Data were analyzed using a statistical method in which various putative confounders were controlled for. Our results indicate the existence of a distinct group of malformations corresponding to the VATER association: esophageal atresia, anal atresia, upper preaxial limb reduction defects, and costo-vertebral malformations. A subdivision into an upper and a lower group of VATER association was indicated, with heart malformations associated with the upper group and kidney malformations associated with the lower group. Restricting the inclusion criteria for VATER association to the above mentioned core malformations, few infants seem to belong to the VATER association, thus limiting the possibilities of carrying out etiological analyses. A relatively large number of infants may belong to a family of related conditions among which VATER association is a subgroup. In the search for risk factors, a strict definition of the VATER association is needed in order to not dilute the study material with irrelevant cases. The present study provides such strict inclusion criteria.
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The syndromes, associations, and developmental field defects that include anorectal dysgenesis (atresia, stenosis, ectopia) as a principal or facultative sign are discussed. Most of these disorders are identifiable by their genetic or teratogenic etiology, their distinctive phenotype, or both. Their precise diagnosis is crucial for estimation of recurrence risk and other aspects of reproductive counseling, and it is essential for classificatory progress. The "VACTERL association" should not be used to label a patient with anorectal malformation and other anomalies except by exclusion; this rule is particularly relevant when the patient lacks tracheoesophageal malformation. The degree (or variety) of anorectal malformation that occurs in a given pattern of multiple congenital anomalies may be inconstant. Furthermore, anorectal malformation may be a solitary expression of a familial syndrome.
While screening for neural tub defects, three cases of exstrophy of the cloaca were found through elevated second-trimester maternal serum alphafetoprotein levels. Measurement of amniotic fluid alphafetoprotein and examination of the structure of rapidly adhering cells confirmed the abnormalities, and the pregnancies were terminated. Subsequent studies of cholinesterase isozymes by acrylamide electrophoresis showed an abnormal acetylcholinesterase band in each of the three amniotic fluids. During the same period, two more cases of exstrophy of the cloaca were identified in spontaneous abortions and another one in a stillbirth. It is suggested that the condition is more common than has been previously suspected and is often misclassified as omphalocele.
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