MedGen

MCPH causes intellectual disability, which is typically mild to moderate and does not become more severe with age. Most affected individuals have delayed speech and language skills. Motor skills, such as sitting, standing, and walking, may also be mildly delayed.

People with MCPH usually have few or no other features associated with the condition. Some have a narrow, sloping forehead; mild seizures; problems with attention or behavior; or short stature compared to others in their family. The condition typically does not affect any other major organ systems or cause other health problems.

Infants with MCPH have an unusually small head circumference compared to other infants of the same sex and age. Head circumference is the distance around the widest part of the head, measured by placing a measuring tape above the eyebrows and ears and around the back of the head. Affected infants' brain volume is also smaller than usual, although they usually do not have any major abnormalities in the structure of the brain. The head and brain grow throughout childhood and adolescence, but they continue to be much smaller than normal.

Autosomal recessive primary microcephaly (often shortened to MCPH, which stands for "microcephaly primary hereditary") is a condition in which infants are born with a very small head and a small brain. The term "microcephaly" comes from the Greek words for "small head." [from MedlinePlus Genetics]

MPPH (megalencephaly-postaxial polydactyly-polymicrogyria-hydrocephalus) syndrome is a developmental brain disorder characterized by megalencephaly (brain overgrowth) with the cortical malformation bilateral perisylvian polymicrogyria (BPP). At birth the occipital frontal circumference (OFC) ranges from normal to 6 standard deviations (SD) above the mean for age, sex, and gestational age; in older individuals the range is from 3 to 10 SD above the mean. A variable degree of ventriculomegaly is seen in almost all children with MPPH syndrome; nearly 50% of individuals have frank hydrocephalus. Neurologic problems associated with BPP include oromotor dysfunction (100%), epilepsy (50%), and mild-to-severe intellectual disability (100%). Postaxial hexadactyly occurs in 50% of individuals with MPPH syndrome. [from GeneReviews]

MPPH (megalencephaly-postaxial polydactyly-polymicrogyria-hydrocephalus) syndrome is a developmental brain disorder characterized by megalencephaly (brain overgrowth) with the cortical malformation bilateral perisylvian polymicrogyria (BPP). At birth the occipital frontal circumference (OFC) ranges from normal to 6 standard deviations (SD) above the mean for age, sex, and gestational age; in older individuals the range is from 3 to 10 SD above the mean. A variable degree of ventriculomegaly is seen in almost all children with MPPH syndrome; nearly 50% of individuals have frank hydrocephalus. Neurologic problems associated with BPP include oromotor dysfunction (100%), epilepsy (50%), and mild-to-severe intellectual disability (100%). Postaxial hexadactyly occurs in 50% of individuals with MPPH syndrome. [from GeneReviews]

MPPH (megalencephaly-postaxial polydactyly-polymicrogyria-hydrocephalus) syndrome is a developmental brain disorder characterized by megalencephaly (brain overgrowth) with the cortical malformation bilateral perisylvian polymicrogyria (BPP). At birth the occipital frontal circumference (OFC) ranges from normal to 6 standard deviations (SD) above the mean for age, sex, and gestational age; in older individuals the range is from 3 to 10 SD above the mean. A variable degree of ventriculomegaly is seen in almost all children with MPPH syndrome; nearly 50% of individuals have frank hydrocephalus. Neurologic problems associated with BPP include oromotor dysfunction (100%), epilepsy (50%), and mild-to-severe intellectual disability (100%). Postaxial hexadactyly occurs in 50% of individuals with MPPH syndrome. [from GeneReviews]

A rare chromosomal anomaly syndrome resulting from a partial deletion of the long arm of chromosome 3. Phenotype can be highly variable, but it primarily has characteristics of significant developmental delay, postnatal growth above the mean, muscular hypotonia and distinctive facial features (such as broad and prominent forehead, hypertelorism, epicanthic folds, ptosis, short philtrum, protruding lips with a full lower lip, high arched palate). Abnormal hypoplastic male genitalia and skeletal abnormalities are frequently present. [from SNOMEDCT_US]

Pontocerebellar hypoplasia is a group of related conditions that affect the development of the brain. The term "pontocerebellar" refers to the pons and the cerebellum, which are the brain structures that are most severely affected in many forms of this disorder. The pons is located at the base of the brain in an area called the brainstem, where it transmits signals between the cerebellum and the rest of the brain. The cerebellum, which is located at the back of the brain, normally coordinates movement. The term "hypoplasia" refers to the underdevelopment of these brain regions.

Pontocerebellar hypoplasia also causes impaired growth of other parts of the brain, leading to an unusually small head size (microcephaly). This microcephaly is usually not apparent at birth but becomes noticeable as brain growth continues to be slow in infancy and early childhood.

Researchers have described at least ten types of pontocerebellar hypoplasia. All forms of this condition are characterized by impaired brain development, delayed development overall, problems with movement, and intellectual disability. The brain abnormalities are usually present at birth, and in some cases they can be detected before birth. Many children with pontocerebellar hypoplasia live only into infancy or childhood, although some affected individuals have lived into adulthood.

The two major forms of pontocerebellar hypoplasia are designated as type 1 (PCH1) and type 2 (PCH2). In addition to the brain abnormalities described above, PCH1 causes problems with muscle movement resulting from a loss of specialized nerve cells called motor neurons in the spinal cord, similar to another genetic disorder known as spinal muscular atrophy. Individuals with PCH1 also have very weak muscle tone (hypotonia), joint deformities called contractures, vision impairment, and breathing and feeding problems that are evident from early infancy.

Common features of PCH2 include a lack of voluntary motor skills (such as grasping objects, sitting, or walking), problems with swallowing (dysphagia), and an absence of communication, including speech. Affected children typically develop temporary jitteriness (generalized clonus) in early infancy, abnormal patterns of movement described as chorea or dystonia, and stiffness (spasticity). Many also have impaired vision and seizures.

The other forms of pontocerebellar hypoplasia, designated as type 3 (PCH3) through type 10 (PCH10), appear to be rare and have each been reported in only a small number of individuals. Because the different types have overlapping features, and some are caused by mutations in the same genes, researchers have proposed that the types be considered as a spectrum instead of distinct conditions. [from MedlinePlus Genetics]

Autosomal dominant Robinow syndrome (ADRS) is characterized by skeletal findings (short stature, mesomelic limb shortening predominantly of the upper limbs, and brachydactyly), genital abnormalities (in males: micropenis / webbed penis, hypoplastic scrotum, cryptorchidism; in females: hypoplastic clitoris and labia majora), dysmorphic facial features (widely spaced and prominent eyes, frontal bossing, anteverted nares, midface retrusion), dental abnormalities (including malocclusion, crowding, hypodontia, late eruption of permanent teeth), bilobed tongue, and occasional prenatal macrocephaly that persists postnatally. Less common findings include renal anomalies, radial head dislocation, vertebral abnormalities such as hemivertebrae and scoliosis, nail dysplasia, cardiac defects, cleft lip/palate, and (rarely) cognitive delay. When present, cardiac defects are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. A variant of Robinow syndrome, associated with osteosclerosis and caused by a heterozygous pathogenic variant in DVL1, is characterized by normal stature, persistent macrocephaly, increased bone mineral density with skull osteosclerosis, and hearing loss, in addition to the typical features described above. [from GeneReviews]

Autosomal dominant Robinow syndrome (ADRS) is characterized by skeletal findings (short stature, mesomelic limb shortening predominantly of the upper limbs, and brachydactyly), genital abnormalities (in males: micropenis / webbed penis, hypoplastic scrotum, cryptorchidism; in females: hypoplastic clitoris and labia majora), dysmorphic facial features (widely spaced and prominent eyes, frontal bossing, anteverted nares, midface retrusion), dental abnormalities (including malocclusion, crowding, hypodontia, late eruption of permanent teeth), bilobed tongue, and occasional prenatal macrocephaly that persists postnatally. Less common findings include renal anomalies, radial head dislocation, vertebral abnormalities such as hemivertebrae and scoliosis, nail dysplasia, cardiac defects, cleft lip/palate, and (rarely) cognitive delay. When present, cardiac defects are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. A variant of Robinow syndrome, associated with osteosclerosis and caused by a heterozygous pathogenic variant in DVL1, is characterized by normal stature, persistent macrocephaly, increased bone mineral density with skull osteosclerosis, and hearing loss, in addition to the typical features described above. [from GeneReviews]

Optic atrophy-9 (OPA9) is characterized by onset of decreased visual acuity and optic disc pallor in the first decade of life, with severely reduced visual acuity and color vision deficits observed in the third decade. Although initially described as an autosomal recessive disease (Metodiev et al., 2014; Kelman et al., 2018; Gibson et al., 2020), autosomal dominant cases of OPA9 have also been reported (Charif et al., 2021). Mutation in the ACO2 gene also causes a neurodegenerative disorder, infantile cerebellar-retinal degeneration (ICRD; 614559), of which optic atrophy is a feature. Dominant and Recessive OPA9 From a cohort of approximately 1,000 patients with optic atrophy, Charif et al. (2021) identified 50 probands with dominant mutations in the ACO2 gene, and 11 patients with biallelic variants. There was no significant difference in distribution of mutation type, with two-thirds of all variants being missense mutations in both groups, and nonsense, frameshift, and splice site mutations comprising the remaining third. Age at onset of symptoms occurred during the first 2 decades, without significant difference between dominant and recessive cases. Visual acuity was significantly more affected in recessive cases than in dominant ones, with more than 60% of eyes from the recessive group having a visual acuity lower than 20/200, whereas more than 80% of eyes from the dominant group had a visual acuity above 20/200. Analysis of the optic disc as well as retinal nerve fiber layer thickness measurements indicated a preferential involvement of the temporal quadrant in both patient groups. Assessment of color vision revealed highly variable alterations, including protan, deutan, and tritan types of dyschromatopsia. Some patients had additional retinal changes, including macular microcysts as well as macular dystrophy in 1 case. Extraocular symptoms were observed in 6 (12%) of the dominant cases and in 3 (27%) of the recessive cases, including hearing impairment in 2 dominant cases, and late-onset cerebellar ataxia in 1 dominant case and in 1 recessive case. [from OMIM]

Tatton-Brown-Rahman syndrome (TBRS) is an overgrowth / intellectual disability syndrome characterized by length/height and/or head circumference =2 SD above the mean for age and sex, obesity / increased weight, intellectual disability that ranges from mild to severe, joint hypermobility, hypotonia, behavioral/psychiatric issues, kyphoscoliosis, and seizures. Individuals with TBRS have subtle dysmorphic features, including a round face with coarse features, thick horizontal low-set eyebrows, narrow (as measured vertically) palpebral fissures, and prominent upper central incisors. The facial gestalt is most easily recognizable in the teenage years. TBRS may be associated with an increased risk of developing acute myeloid leukemia. There are less clear associations with aortic root dilatation and increased risk of other hematologic and solid tumors. [from GeneReviews]

The concentration of 2-hydroxydicarboxylic acid in the urine, normalized for urine concentration, is above the upper limit of normal. [from HPO]

Macular dystrophies are inherited retinal dystrophies in which various forms of deposits, pigmentary changes, and atrophic lesions are observed in the macula lutea, the cone-rich region of the central retina. Vitelliform macular dystrophies (VMDs) form a subset of macular dystrophies characterized by round yellow deposits, usually at the center of the macula and containing lipofuscin, a chemically heterogeneous pigment visualized by autofluorescence imaging of the fundus (summary by Manes et al., 2013). Vitelliform macular dystrophy-5 (VMD5) is characterized by late-onset moderate visual impairment, preservation of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) reflectivity, deposits above the RPE between the ellipsoid and outer segment interdigitation lines on spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), and normal or borderline results on electrooculopathy (EOG) (Meunier et al., 2014). Brandl et al. (2017) examined patients with IMPG2- and IMPG1 (602870)-associated VMD (see VMD4; 616151) and observed strikingly similar phenotypic characteristics. They noted that retinal lesions progressed in consecutive stages, with the initial development of a single vitelliform lesion in the central macula, with detachment of the neurosensory retina and hyperreflective material located above the seemingly preserved Bruch membrane/RPE seen on SD-OCT. Next, resorption of the hyperreflective material occurs, leaving behind a dome-shaped, optically empty cavity; alternatively, the foveal cavity formed by retinal detachment may become successively filled with material. Finally, there is collapse of the cavity with central retinal atrophy and loss of RPE, resulting in the most pronounced loss of visual acuity. The authors also noted that symptoms tended to be more severe in those with IMPG1 mutations. For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of vitelliform macular dystrophy, see VMD1 (153840). [from OMIM]

MPPH (megalencephaly-postaxial polydactyly-polymicrogyria-hydrocephalus) syndrome is a developmental brain disorder characterized by megalencephaly (brain overgrowth) with the cortical malformation bilateral perisylvian polymicrogyria (BPP). At birth the occipital frontal circumference (OFC) ranges from normal to 6 standard deviations (SD) above the mean for age, sex, and gestational age; in older individuals the range is from 3 to 10 SD above the mean. A variable degree of ventriculomegaly is seen in almost all children with MPPH syndrome; nearly 50% of individuals have frank hydrocephalus. Neurologic problems associated with BPP include oromotor dysfunction (100%), epilepsy (50%), and mild-to-severe intellectual disability (100%). Postaxial hexadactyly occurs in 50% of individuals with MPPH syndrome. [from GeneReviews]

As in the Number 1 and Number 2 clefts, this cleft extends through the lip in the region of the typical cleft lip; however, it does not extend through the base. The cleft continues superiorly to involve the inner canthus and lower eyelid medial to the inferior lacrimal punctum, thereby disrupting the nasolacrimal system. Microphthalmia may be present. The alveolar cleft is between the lateral incisor and the canine. Absent septation between the nasal cavity and maxillary antrum, together with the distortion of the frontal process of the maxilla and lacrimal fossa, produces direct communication between the orbit, maxillary sinus, and nose. There is hypoplasia of the soft tissue margins of the cleft in the vertical dimension. This produces extreme soft tissue deficiency between the alar base and the cleft of the medial aspect of the lower eyelid. The inferior lacrimal punctum is evident at the lateral margin of the lower eyelid cleft. The lacrimal drainage system ends as an opening directly onto the cheek without communication into the nasal cavity. The globe is normal in size, but it is displaced inferiorly and laterally. The nasal septum shows the characteristic distortion seen in typical cleft lip and palate. There is absence of septation between the nasal cavity on the cleft side and the maxilla. The maxilla is hypoplastic in three dimensions, with a marked reduction in pneumatization. Superior extension of the skeletal clefting into the medial portion of the orbital floor and into the inferior orbital rim in the region of the frontal process of the maxilla allows direct communication between the orbit above and the nasomaxillary region below. There is mild narrowing of the ethmoid sinus and of the body of the sphenoid on the cleft side. The pterygoid process appears anatomically normal, but less displaced from the midline compared with that of the noncleft side. Both the orbit and the floor of the anterior cranial fossa are inferiorly displaced. [from HPO]