Intrafamilial variability in SPTAN1-related disorder: From benign convulsions with mild gastroenteritis to developmental encephalopathy.

Mutations in SPTAN1 gene are responsible for a wide spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders including early-onset epileptic encephalopathy with progressive brain atrophy, severe intellectual disability with cerebellar malformations, and relatively milder phenotypes with or without epilepsy. Herein, we report three affected individuals including two siblings of 13 and 8 years and their 39-year-old mother, carrying a novel pathogenic variant in SPTAN1 gene. The phenotype of the index cases and their mother was remarkable for the variable expressivity, including benign convulsions with mild gastroenteritis, intellectual disability and developmental encephalopathy with epilepsy.

Microdeletion of pseudogene chr14.232.a affects LRFN5 expression in cells of a patient with autism spectrum disorder.

We identified a 14q21.2 microdeletion in a 16-year-old boy with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), IQ in the lower part of normal range but high-functioning memory skills. The deletion affects a gene desert, and the non-deleted gene closest to the microdeletion boundaries is LRFN5, which encodes a protein involved in synaptic plasticity and implicated in neuro-psychiatric disorders.

A novel SHANK3 interstitial microdeletion in a family with intellectual disability and brain MRI abnormalities resembling Unidentified Bright Objects.

Background: SHANK3 mutations are responsible for Phelan-McDermid syndrome but they are also associated with autism and/or intellectual disability.

Case Report: We report a family with four affected individuals including the 37 year-old mother, her 12 year-old male monozygotic twins and 8 year-old daughter harboring a novel SHANK3 interstitial microdeletion. All four members presented with intellectual disability of variable severity.

CNS involvement in OFD1 syndrome: a clinical, molecular, and neuroimaging study.

Background: Oral-facial-digital type 1 syndrome (OFD1; OMIM 311200) belongs to the expanding group of disorders ascribed to ciliary dysfunction. With the aim of contributing to the understanding of the role of primary cilia in the central nervous system (CNS), we performed a thorough characterization of CNS involvement observed in this disorder.

Methods: A cohort of 117 molecularly diagnosed OFD type I patients was screened for the presence of neurological symptoms and/or cognitive/behavioral abnormalities on the basis of the available information supplied by the collaborating clinicians.

A further contribution to the delineation of the 17q21.31 microdeletion syndrome: central nervous involvement in two Italian patients.

The 17q21.31 microdeletion syndrome is a genetic disorder characterized by intellectual disability, facial dysmorphisms and a typical behavioral phenotype. Patients are usually described as friendly and cooperative but they can also show behavioral problems such as hyperactivity, bad humor, temper tantrums and poor interaction.

Clinical description of a patient carrying the smallest reported deletion involving 10p14 region.

Haploinsufficiency of a region located distal to 10p14 designated HDR1, is responsible for hypoparathyroidism, sensorineural deafness, and renal anomalies (HDR syndrome). Haploinsufficiency of a more proximal region, located on 10p13-10p14, designated as DGCR2 is associated with congenital heart defects and thymus hypoplasia/aplasia or T cell defect. We describe a patient showing facial dysmorphisms, delayed psychomotor development and bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and carrying a 10p14 deletion, the smallest deletion found in the literature so far.

Selective cognitive impairment and tall stature due to chromosome 19 supernumerary ring.

Small supernumerary marker chromosomes (sSMC) occur with a frequency of approximately 0.4 per 1000 newborns and are more frequent in the population with mental retardation and/or with dysmorphic signs. Small supernumerary chromosome rings (sSCR) usually occur as apart of a mosaic karyotype (Liehr et al.

Mental retardation, congenital heart malformation, and myelodysplasia in a patient with a complex chromosomal rearrangement involving the critical region 21q22.

The region 21q22 is considered crucial for the pathogenesis of both Down syndrome (DS) and the partial monosomy 21q syndrome. Haploinsufficiency of the RUNX-1 gene, mapping at 21q22 is responsible for a platelet disorder and causes predisposition to myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). We describe a 3-year-old girl with mental retardation, congenital heart malformation, and subtle dysmorphic facial features.

An emerging phenotype of proximal 11q deletions.

Few reports of small interstitial chromosome 11q deletions are reported in the literature and no clear genotype-phenotype correlation has been demonstrated. We describe a five years old boy who was referred to our attention because of the presence of ptosis of the left eyelid, iris coloboma and developmental delay. Clinical examination also revealed the presence of dysmorphic features including: low frontal hairline, flat profile, round face, full cheeks, periorbital fullness, hypertelorism, broad nasal bridge, down-turned corners of the mouth.

Taylor-type focal cortical dysplasia: is the epilepsy always resistant to medical treatment?

Patients with Taylor-type focal cortical dysplasia (TTFCD) generally present with medically intractable epilepsy and impaired neurological and/or intellectual functioning. Surgery usually proves to be the only treatment approach leading to control of seizures. We describe a 17-year-old girl with TTFCD who exhibited a very long period of seizure remission.

Cerebellar vermis aplasia: patient report and exclusion of the candidate genes EN2 and ZIC1.

Cerebellar vermis aplasia (ACV, OMIM 117360) is a rare malformation of the cerebellum, with only few familial patients reported so far. Main clinical features of this rare disorder include floppiness and delayed milestones in early infancy, preceding mild cerebellar ataxia, non-progressive clinical course, normal or slightly delayed intelligence, and occasional nystagmus. Neuroimaging reveals selective involvement of the cerebellum, which is prominent in the vermis.