Distal symphalangism associated with camptodactyly.

A Japanese family in which four patients in three generations had distal symphalangism associated with camptodactyly is reported. All of these patients had extension limitation of the proximal interphalangeal joints of the toes of both feet. Radiographs of the hands and feet, undertaken in three cases, showed no bone fusion of the distal and proximal interphalangeal joints. This malformation is caused by an autosomal dominant gene. To our knowledge, no previous case of distal symphalangism with extension limitation of the proximal interphalangeal joints has been reported.     

Distal 11q monosomy. The typical 11q monosomy syndrome is due to deletion of subband 11q24.1

In this paper we describe two new patients with distal 11q monosomy and precisely localize breakpoints using high resolution banding techniques. The findings in these two patients further contribute to the precise localization of the crucial band for 11q monosomy syndrome as being at 11q24.1. A very distal 11q24.2 deletion in the second patient resulted in a completely different phenotype.     

A case of partial monosomy 21q22.2 associated with Rieger''s syndrome.

A deleted chromosome 21 is reported in a mentally retarded girl with prominent occiput, high nasal bridge, downward slanting eyes, enophthalmus, atresia of the right lacrimal duct, displaced anal opening, and supernumerary ribs. Cytogenetic investigation of cultured lymphocytes and skin fibroblasts revealed a deletion of the long arm of chromosome 21 at sub-band q22.2 with satellites on both arms. Normal SOD-1 activity confirmed the breakpoint to be distal to band q22.1.     

Severe anomalies associated with ring chromosome 7.

A newborn infant with the polyasplenia sequence, intrauterine growth retardation, cutaneous nevi, and minor anomalies was found to have mosaicism for ring chromosome 7. This patient's anomalies are markedly different from those of previous patients reported with this cytogenetic anomaly.     

Inheritance of a ring 14 chromosome.

A family is described in which the mother, her two live offspring, and a therapeutically aborted fetus each had a ring 14 chromosomes. The two children were mentally retarded and the mother's intelligence was at the lower end of the normal range. In addition, the mother had two spontaneous abortions, one of which was shown to be chromosomally normal.     

A case of incomplete DiGeorge syndrome associated with partial monosomy 22q11.1 due to maternal 14;22 translocation

We report a boy with some clinical symptoms compatible with a diagnosis of incomplete DiGeorge syndrome. He had a dismorphic face, micrognathia, cleft palate, and heart anomalies similar to DiGeorge syndrome, but lacked aplasia of the thymus or hypoparathyroidism typical of the syndrome. High-resolution banding analysis revealed that his karyotype was 45,XY,-14,-22, +der(14)(14pter----14q32.32::22q11.21----22qter), the consequence of a maternal reciprocal translocation between chromosomes 14 and 22. Precise localization of the gene responsible for the present DiGeorge syndrome was assigned to subband 22q11.1.     

A case of incomplete DiGeorge syndrome associated with partial monosomy 22q11.1 due to maternal 14;22 translocation

We report a boy with some clinical symptoms compatible with a diagnosis of incomplete DiGeorge syndrome. He had a dismorphic face, micrognathia, cleft palate, and heart anomalies similar to DiGeorge syndrome, but lacked aplasia of the thymus or hypoparathyroidism typical of the syndrome. High-resolution banding analysis revealed that his karyotype was 45,XY,–14,–22,+der(14)(14pter14q32.32::22q11.2122qter), the consequence of a maternal reciprocal translocation between chromosomes 14 and 22. Precise localization of the gene responsible for the present DiGeorge syndrome was assigned to subband 22q11.1.     

Myelodysplastic syndrome associated with monosomy 7 in a child with Bloom syndrome

Bloom syndrome is a genomic instability syndrome associated with predisposition to development of various types of malignancy. In this report, we described a 7-year-old boy with Bloom syndrome (BS) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) associated with monosomy 7 and loss of the Y chromosome. To our knowledge, this was the first case with BS showing monosomy 7 and MDS during the early childhood period.     

New form of bone dysplasia with multiple fractures associated with monosomy X

We report on the clinical, radiologic, and pathologic findings in a 20-week-old fetus with monosomy X and severe hydrops associated with fetal dwarfism. The fetus presented with osteoporosis, bent bones, multiple fractures, and distinctive symmetric submetaphyseal transverse bone interruptions or pseudofractures. We excluded by radiologic and histopathologic examination the diagnoses of osteogenesis imperfecta, hypophosphatasia, campomelic dysplasia, achondrogenesis, hypochondrogenesis, and other types of bone dysplasia. To our knowledge, this is a previously undescribed bone dysplasia associated with monosomy X. This bone dysplasia may be inherited as an X-linked recessive disorder. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Promoter polymorphisms of the CD14 gene are not associated with bronchial asthma in Caucasian children.

Several studies have investigated the association of a promoter polymorphism in CD14 with atopic phenotypes. We screened this and another polymorphism in 182 asthmatic children and found no association with asthma. Furthermore, there was substantial linkage disequilibrium of the polymorphisms. Thus CD14 does not play a major role in the development of asthma in our population of Caucasian children.     

The ring 14 syndrome

The ring 14 syndrome is a rare condition, whose precise clinical and genetic characterization is still limited. This review summarizes literature data and it describes our own experience with 27 patients with ring 14 syndrome. Clinically, the ring 14 syndrome is characterized by a recognizable phenotype of shortness of stature, distinctive facial appearance, microcephaly, scoliosis, and ocular abnormalities, consisting mainly of abnormal retinal pigmentation, but also retinitis pigmentosa, strabismus, glaucoma, and abnormal macula. Virtually all patients are intellectually delayed, with aggressive and hyperactive behavior in some. Drug-resistant, mainly focal in type, epilepsy is another highly consistent finding. In our own sample of patients the ring was complete, with no apparent loss of chromosome material, in 6/27 cases, while it showed a small terminal deletion, varying in size from 0.3 to 5 Mb, in the other 21. In two of these a cryptic 14q duplication of 2.5 and 9.7 Mb, respectively, proximal to the deleted segment, was also identified. Deleted rings were 75% paternal and 25% maternal in origin. UPD (14) was excluded in all cases. Based on literature review of linear deletions, affecting either the proximal or the distal 14q region, we could deduce that retinal abnormalities and epilepsy map within the proximal 14q11.2- q12 region. Because this region is preserved in all patients with ring 14, we speculate that genes residing in the proximal 14q interval are disregulated through heterochromatinization spreading from the adjacent short arm of the chromosome. Behavior disorders and susceptibility to infections can be assigned to the 14q32 region, haploinsufficiency being the most likely underlying mechanism.