A case of severe mental and developmental retardation associated with 14q terminal monosomy/5q terminal trisomy.

I previously described the case of a 19 year-old female with severe mental retardation, developmental retardation, microcephalus, short stature, bilateral microphthalmia, ptosis and blepharophimosis(1). Now, I present clinical descriptions of her half-siblings, who have a different father. Subtelomeric fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis of the proband demonstrated 5q terminal trisomy and 14q terminal monosomy. I presume that her mother harbors a balanced translocation between the terminal of chromosome 5q and 14q. I suggest that familial cases of mental retardation and dysmorphic features should be screened for terminal chromosomal abnormalities by FISH or comparative genomic hybridization (CGH), even if G-banding analysis or high-resolution chromosome analysis is normal.