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Stiff skin syndrome (also known as "Congenital fascial dystrophy") is a cutaneous condition characterized by ‘rock hard’ induration, thickening of the skin and subcutaneous tissues, limited joint mobility, and mild hypertrichosis in infancy or early childhood. Immunologic abnormalities or vascular hyperactivity are not present in patients.
Not much is known about it, cause or treatment, as it has only been reported 41 times throughout history. Not much is known about this, and further investigation is required.According to news reports on one particular patient by name of Jaiden Rogers, the patient's skin hardens in some places, and it slowly spreads over the surrounding area. For Rogers, it's spreading over the back, legs, and hips, inhibiting his ability to walk. He say it hurts, but finds it difficult to describe the sensations further. Currently, it appears that chemotherapy similar to that used for cancer is slowing the spread, but it also appears that once the skin has hardened it cannot revert to its healthy flexible state. Physical therapy also appears to help. Further investigation is required.
Median nail dystrophy (also known as "Dystrophia unguis mediana canaliformis," "Median canaliform dystrophy of Heller," and "Solenonychia") consists of longitudinal splitting or canal formation in the midline of the nail, a split which often resembles a fir tree, occurring at the cuticle and proceeding outward as the nail grows.
Thumbs, which are the most commonly involved, usually show an enlarged lunula resulting probably from repeated pressure applied on the base of the nail.
EEM syndrome (or Ectodermal dysplasia, Ectrodactyly and Macular dystrophy syndrome) is an autosomal recessive congenital malformation disorder affecting tissues associated with the ectoderm (skin, hair, nails, teeth), and also the hands, feet and eyes.
No specific treatment is available. Management is only supportive and preventive.
Those who are diagnosed with the disease often die within the first few months of life. Almost all children with the disease die by the age of three.
There is no treatment for the disorder. A number of studies are looking at gene therapy, exon skipping and CRISPR interference to offer hope for the future. Accurate determination through confirmed diagnosis of the genetic mutation that has occurred also offers potential approaches beyond gene replacement for a specific group, namely in the case of diagnosis of a so-called nonsense mutation, a mutation where a stop codon is produced by the changing of a single base in the DNA sequence. This results in premature termination of protein biosynthesis, resulting in a shortened and either functionless or function-impaired protein. In what is sometimes called "read-through therapy", translational skipping of the stop codon, resulting in a functional protein, can be induced by the introduction of specific substances. However, this approach is only conceivable in the case of narrowly circumscribed mutations, which cause differing diseases.
A disease that threatens the eyesight and additionally produces a hair anomaly that is apparent to strangers causes harm beyond the physical. It is therefore not surprising that learning the diagnosis is a shock to the patient. This is as true of the affected children as of their parents and relatives. They are confronted with a statement that there are at present no treatment options. They probably have never felt so alone and abandoned in their lives. The question comes to mind, "Why me/my child?" However, there is always hope and especially for affected children, the first priority should be a happy childhood. Too many examinations and doctor appointments take up time and cannot practically solve the problem of a genetic mutation within a few months. It is therefore advisable for parents to treat their child with empathy, but to raise him or her to be independent and self-confident by the teenage years. Openness about the disease and talking with those affected about their experiences, even though its rarity makes it unlikely that others will be personally affected by it, will together assist in managing life.
Prevention of the condition requires restoration of blood flow after injury and reduction of compartmental pressure on the muscles. Any splints, bandages, or other devices that might be obstructing circulation must be removed. A fasciotomy may be required to reduce pressure in the muscle compartment. If the contracture occurs, surgery to release the fixed tissues may help with the deformity and function of the hand.
Painful fat herniation, described as painful feet due to fat herniations through the thin fascial layers of the weight-bearing parts of the heel is rare, piezogenic pedal papules or Piezogenic papules are very common. These papules can also be found in wrist areas and commonly found in connective tissue disorders, especially Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. However, due to their preponderence amongst humans, their presence does not automatically mean the existence of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome and in most cases they are of little significance.
Treatment plans will vary depending on the severity of the condition and its evidences in each patient.
Areas that will probably need to be evaluated and assessed include speech, vision, hearing and EEG. Treatment measures may include physical therapy, occupational therapy, Speech therapy, anti-seizure drugs and orthotic devices. Surgery may be needed to assuage spastic motor problems. Various supportive measures such as joint contractures that could prevent complications.
Genetic counseling may also be recommended
Many conditions affect the human integumentary system—the organ system covering the entire surface of the body and composed of skin, hair, nails, and related muscle and glands. The major function of this system is as a barrier against the external environment. The skin weighs an average of four kilograms, covers an area of two square meters, and is made of three distinct layers: the epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous tissue. The two main types of human skin are: glabrous skin, the hairless skin on the palms and soles (also referred to as the "palmoplantar" surfaces), and hair-bearing skin. Within the latter type, the hairs occur in structures called pilosebaceous units, each with hair follicle, sebaceous gland, and associated arrector pili muscle. In the embryo, the epidermis, hair, and glands form from the ectoderm, which is chemically influenced by the underlying mesoderm that forms the dermis and subcutaneous tissues.
The epidermis is the most superficial layer of skin, a squamous epithelium with several strata: the stratum corneum, stratum lucidum, stratum granulosum, stratum spinosum, and stratum basale. Nourishment is provided to these layers by diffusion from the dermis, since the epidermis is without direct blood supply. The epidermis contains four cell types: keratinocytes, melanocytes, Langerhans cells, and Merkel cells. Of these, keratinocytes are the major component, constituting roughly 95 percent of the epidermis. This stratified squamous epithelium is maintained by cell division within the stratum basale, in which differentiating cells slowly displace outwards through the stratum spinosum to the stratum corneum, where cells are continually shed from the surface. In normal skin, the rate of production equals the rate of loss; about two weeks are needed for a cell to migrate from the basal cell layer to the top of the granular cell layer, and an additional two weeks to cross the stratum corneum.
The dermis is the layer of skin between the epidermis and subcutaneous tissue, and comprises two sections, the papillary dermis and the reticular dermis. The superficial papillary dermis with the overlying rete ridges of the epidermis, between which the two layers interact through the basement membrane zone. Structural components of the dermis are collagen, elastic fibers, and ground substance. Within these components are the pilosebaceous units, arrector pili muscles, and the eccrine and apocrine glands. The dermis contains two vascular networks that run parallel to the skin surface—one superficial and one deep plexus—which are connected by vertical communicating vessels. The function of blood vessels within the dermis is fourfold: to supply nutrition, to regulate temperature, to modulate inflammation, and to participate in wound healing.
The subcutaneous tissue is a layer of fat between the dermis and underlying fascia. This tissue may be further divided into two components, the actual fatty layer, or panniculus adiposus, and a deeper vestigial layer of muscle, the panniculus carnosus. The main cellular component of this tissue is the adipocyte, or fat cell. The structure of this tissue is composed of septal (i.e. linear strands) and lobular compartments, which differ in microscopic appearance. Functionally, the subcutaneous fat insulates the body, absorbs trauma, and serves as a reserve energy source.
Conditions of the human integumentary system constitute a broad spectrum of diseases, also known as dermatoses, as well as many nonpathologic states (like, in certain circumstances, melanonychia and racquet nails). While only a small number of skin diseases account for most visits to the physician, thousands of skin conditions have been described. Classification of these conditions often presents many nosological challenges, since underlying etiologies and pathogenetics are often not known. Therefore, most current textbooks present a classification based on location (for example, conditions of the mucous membrane), morphology (chronic blistering conditions), etiology (skin conditions resulting from physical factors), and so on. Clinically, the diagnosis of any particular skin condition is made by gathering pertinent information regarding the presenting skin lesion(s), including the location (such as arms, head, legs), symptoms (pruritus, pain), duration (acute or chronic), arrangement (solitary, generalized, annular, linear), morphology (macules, papules, vesicles), and color (red, blue, brown, black, white, yellow). Diagnosis of many conditions often also requires a skin biopsy which yields histologic information that can be correlated with the clinical presentation and any laboratory data.
It was concluded by Mousa-Al et al. that the disease is different from a disease known as spastic ataxia-corneal dystrophy syndrome that had been found a year later in 1986 in an inbred Bedouin family. Corneal-cerebellar syndrome differs from the spastic ataxia-corneal dystrophy syndrome by causing mental retardation. Corneal dystrophy is also epithelian instead of being stromal.
Corneal-cerebellar syndrome (also known as Der Kaloustian-Jarudi-Khoury syndrome) is an autosomally resessive disease that was first described in 1985. Three cases are known: all are sisters in the same family.
EEM syndrome exhibits a combination of prominent symptoms and features. These include: ectodermal dysplasia (systemic malformations of ectodermal tissues), ectrodactyly ("lobster claw" deformity in the hands and feet), macular dystrophy (a progressive eye disease), syndactyly (webbed fingers or toes), hypotrichosis (a type of hair-loss), and dental abnormalities (hypodontia).
X-linked endothelial corneal dystrophy (XECD) is a rare form of corneal dystrophy described first in 2006, based on a 4-generation family of 60 members with 9 affected males and 35 trait carriers, which led to mapping the XECD locus to Xq25. It manifests as severe corneal opacification or clouding, sometimes congenital, in the form of a ground glass, milky corneal tissue, and moon crater-like changes of corneal endothelium. Trait carriers manifest only endothelial alterations resembling moon craters.
As of December 2014, the molecular basis for this disease remained unknown, although 181 genes were known to be within the XECD locus, of which 68 were known to be protein-coding.
Bethlem myopathy is an autosomal dominant myopathy, classified as a congenital form of muscular dystrophy, that is caused by a mutation in one of the three genes coding for type VI collagen. These include COL6A1, COL6A2, and COL6A3.
Overall prognosis for children with amyoplasia is good. Intensive therapies throughout developing years include physical therapy, occupational therapy and multiple orthopedic procedures. Most children require therapy for years, but almost 2/3 are eventually able to walk, with or without braces, and attend school.
Surgery may be necessary to address the congenital deformities frequently occurring in conjunction with arthrogryposis. Surgery on feet, knees, hips, elbows and wrists may also be useful if more range of motion is needed after therapy has achieved maximum results. In some cases, tendon transfers can improve function. Congenital deformities of the feet, hips and spine may require surgical correction at or about one year of age.
Some cases of myotonia congenita do not require treatment, or it is determined that the risks of the medication outweigh the benefits. If necessary, however, symptoms of the disorder may be relieved with quinine, phenytoin, carbamazepine, mexiletine and other anticonvulsant drugs. Physical therapy and other rehabilitative measures may also be used to help muscle function. Genetic counseling is available.
Lisch epithelial corneal dystrophy (LECD), also known as band-shaped and whorled microcystic dystrophy of the corneal epithelium, is a rare form of corneal dystrophy first described in 1992 by Lisch et al. In one study it was linked to chromosomal region Xp22.3, with as yet unknown candidate genes.
The main features of this disease are bilateral or unilateral gray band-shaped and feathery opacities. They sometimes take on a form of a whirlpool, repeating the known pattern of corneal epithelium renewal. Abrasion of the epithelium in 3 patients brought only temporary relief, with abnormal epithelium regrowth in several months.
Epithelial cells in the zones of opacity were shown to have diffuse cytoplasmic vacuoles with as yet unestablished content.
It is named after Richard von Volkmann (1830 - 1889), the 19th century German doctor who first described it, in a paper on ""non-Infective Ischemic conditions of various fascial compartments in the extremities"". Because the contracture occurred at the same time as the paralysis, he considered a nerve cause to be unlikely.
Walker–Warburg syndrome (WWS), also called Warburg syndrome, Chemke syndrome, HARD syndrome (Hydrocephalus, Agyria and Retinal Dysplasia), Pagon syndrome, cerebroocular dysgenesis (COD) or cerebroocular dysplasia-muscular dystrophy syndrome (COD-MD), is a rare form of autosomal recessive congenital muscular dystrophy. It is associated with brain (lissencephaly, hydrocephalus, cerebellar malformations) and eye abnormalities. This condition has a worldwide distribution. The overall incidence is unknown but a survey in North-eastern Italy has reported an incidence rate of 1.2 per 100,000 live births. It is the most severe form of congenital muscular dystrophy with most children dying before the age of three years.
Parents of a proband
- The parents of an affected individual are obligate heterozygotes and therefore carry one mutant allele.
- Heterozygotes (carriers) are asymptomatic.
Sibs of a proband
- At conception, each sibling of an affected individual has a 25% chance of being affected, a 50% chance of being an asymptomatic carrier, and a 25% chance of being unaffected and not a carrier.
- Once an at-risk sibling is known to be unaffected, the risk of his/her being a carrier is 2/3.
- Heterozygotes (carriers) are asymptomatic.
Offspring of a proband
- Offspring of a proband are obligate heterozygotes and will therefore carry one mutant allele.
- In populations with a high rate of consanguinity, the offspring of a person with GPR56-related BFPP and a reproductive partner who is a carrier of GPR56-related BFPP have a 50% chance of inheriting two GPR56 disease-causing alleles and having BFPP and a 50% chance of being carriers.
Other family members of a proband.
- Each sibling of the proband's parents is at a 50% risk of being a carrier
Treatment is symptomatic, and may include anti-seizure medication and special or supplemental education consisting of physical, occupational, and speech therapies.
Emery–Dreifuss muscular dystrophy is a condition that mainly affects muscles used for movement, such as skeletal muscles and also affects the cardiac muscle, it is named after Alan Eglin H. Emery and Fritz E. Dreifuss.
Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy is a form of congenital muscular dystrophy.It is associated with variants of type VI collagen, it is commonly associated with muscle weakness and respiratory problems, though cardiac issues are not associated with this type of CMD. It is named after Otto Ullrich, who is also known for the Ullrich-Turner syndrome.