MedGen

Incontinentia pigmenti (IP) is a disorder that affects the skin, hair, teeth, nails, eyes, and central nervous system; it occurs primarily in females and on occasion in males. Characteristic skin lesions evolve through four stages: I. Blistering (birth to age ~4 months). II. Wart-like rash (for several months). III. Swirling macular hyperpigmentation (age ~6 months into adulthood). IV. Linear hypopigmentation. Alopecia, hypodontia, abnormal tooth shape, and dystrophic nails are observed. Neovascularization of the retina, present in some individuals, predisposes to retinal detachment. Neurologic findings including seizures, intellectual disability, and developmental delays are occasionally seen. [from GeneReviews]

EFEMP2-related cutis laxa, or autosomal recessive cutis laxa type 1B (ARCL1B), is characterized by cutis laxa and systemic involvement, most commonly arterial tortuosity, aneurysms, and stenosis; retrognathia; joint laxity; and arachnodactyly. Severity ranges from perinatal lethality as a result of cardiopulmonary failure to manifestations limited to the vascular and craniofacial systems. [from GeneReviews]

Bleeding problems are common in the vascular type of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and are caused by unpredictable tearing (rupture) of blood vessels and organs. These complications can lead to easy bruising, internal bleeding, a hole in the wall of the intestine (intestinal perforation), or stroke. During pregnancy, women with vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome may experience rupture of the uterus. Additional forms of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome that involve rupture of the blood vessels include the kyphoscoliotic, classical, and classical-like types.

Other types of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome have additional signs and symptoms. The cardiac-valvular type causes severe problems with the valves that control the movement of blood through the heart. People with the kyphoscoliotic type experience severe curvature of the spine that worsens over time and can interfere with breathing by restricting lung expansion. A type of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome called brittle cornea syndrome is characterized by thinness of the clear covering of the eye (the cornea) and other eye abnormalities. The spondylodysplastic type features short stature and skeletal abnormalities such as abnormally curved (bowed) limbs. Abnormalities of muscles, including hypotonia and permanently bent joints (contractures), are among the characteristic signs of the musculocontractural and myopathic forms of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. The periodontal type causes abnormalities of the teeth and gums.

Many people with the Ehlers-Danlos syndromes have soft, velvety skin that is highly stretchy (elastic) and fragile. Affected individuals tend to bruise easily, and some types of the condition also cause abnormal scarring. People with the classical form of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome experience wounds that split open with little bleeding and leave scars that widen over time to create characteristic "cigarette paper" scars. The dermatosparaxis type of the disorder is characterized by loose skin that sags and wrinkles, and extra (redundant) folds of skin may be present.

An unusually large range of joint movement (hypermobility) occurs in most forms of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and it is a hallmark feature of the hypermobile type. Infants and children with hypermobility often have weak muscle tone (hypotonia), which can delay the development of motor skills such as sitting, standing, and walking. The loose joints are unstable and prone to dislocation and chronic pain. In the arthrochalasia type of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, infants have hypermobility and dislocations of both hips at birth.

The various forms of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome have been classified in several different ways. Originally, 11 forms of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome were named using Roman numerals to indicate the types (type I, type II, and so on). In 1997, researchers proposed a simpler classification (the Villefranche nomenclature) that reduced the number of types to six and gave them descriptive names based on their major features. In 2017, the classification was updated to include rare forms of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome that were identified more recently. The 2017 classification describes 13 types of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a group of disorders that affect connective tissues supporting the skin, bones, blood vessels, and many other organs and tissues. Defects in connective tissues cause the signs and symptoms of these conditions, which range from mildly loose joints to life-threatening complications. [from MedlinePlus Genetics]

Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS) is generally considered the least severe type of EDS, although significant complications, primarily musculoskeletal, can and do occur. The skin is often soft and may be mildly hyperextensible. Subluxations and dislocations are common; they may occur spontaneously or with minimal trauma and can be acutely painful. Degenerative joint disease is common. Chronic pain, distinct from that associated with acute dislocations, is a serious complication of the condition and can be both physically and psychologically disabling. Easy bruising, functional bowel disorders, and cardiovascular autonomic dysfunction are common. Aortic root dilation, when present, is typically of a mild degree with no increased risk of dissection in the absence of significant dilation. Psychological dysfunction, psychosocial impairment, and emotional problems are common. [from GeneReviews]

Lipoid proteinosis (LP) is characterized by deposition of hyaline-like material in various tissues resulting in a hoarse voice from early infancy, vesicles and hemorrhagic crusts in the mouth and on the face and extremities, verrucous and keratotic cutaneous lesions on extensor surfaces (especially the elbows), and moniliform blepharosis (multiple beaded papules along the eyelid margins and inner canthus). Extracutaneous manifestations may include epilepsy, neuropsychiatric disorders, spontaneous CNS hemorrhage, and asymptomatic multiple yellowish nodules throughout the gastrointestinal tract. Generally, the disease course is chronic and fluctuating. Males and females are affected equally. Affected individuals have a normal life span unless they experience laryngeal obstruction. [from GeneReviews]

Atrial standstill (AS) is a rare condition characterized by the absence of electrical and mechanical activity in the atria. On surface ECG, AS is distinguished by bradycardia, junctional (usually narrow complex) escape rhythm, and absence of the P wave. Nearly 50% of patients with AS experience syncope. AS can be persistent or transient, and diffuse or partial (summary by Fazelifar et al., 2005). [from OMIM]

Childhood-onset variegate porphyria (VPCO), also called 'homozygous' variegate porphyria, is a rare disorder of heme biosynthesis characterized by severe PPOX deficiency, onset of photosensitization by porphyrins in early childhood, skeletal abnormalities of the hand, and, less consistently, short stature, impaired intellectual development, and seizures. The term 'homozygous' refers to the presence of mutations on both alleles of the PPOX gene, resulting in earlier onset and more severe manifestations than those seen in variegate porphyria (VP), a low-penetrance disorder inherited as an autosomal dominant trait (summary by Roberts et al., 1998). Heterozygous family members of VPCO patients are usually clinically silent, but symptomatic heterozygotes have been reported (Mustajoki et al., 1987; Palmer et al., 2001; Kauppinen et al., 2001). Nomenclature 'Homozygous' variegate porphyria was so designated before the molecular defect in PPOX was elucidated, on the basis of severe reduction in PPOX activity (between 5 and 20% of control values) compared to that seen in variegate porphyria (approximately 50% reduction), in which autosomal dominant transmission had been observed. It is probable that most cases of 'homozygous' variegate porphyria actually result from compound heterozygosity for PPOX mutations (Frank et al., 1998; Palmer et al., 2001). [from OMIM]

Neurodevelopmental disorder with hypotonia and characteristic brain abnormalities (NEDHBA) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by impaired intellectual development with striking radiologic abnormalities of the lateral ventricles (Fasham et al., 2023). [from OMIM]

A scar refers to a lesion in which wound, burn, or sore has not healed completely and fibrous connective tissue has developed. [from HPO]