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In 2012, a 5-generation Dutch family consisting of 7 males and 7 females with Wilson-Turner Syndrome. These individuals had some characteristics that differed from the stated phenotype mentioned by Wilson. These individuals have a larger stature, head, and chin, in addition to coarse facial features. Unlike the females in Wilson's study, these females shown signs of being affected, although less severe than their male counterparts. None of the men could live on their own. Studies verified that the phenotype of the disorder range on a large scale and can affect everyone differently. This research group also used next-generation sequencing of the X chromosome exome to identify the HDAC8 gene mutation
There is also ongoing research to determine the cause of the decreased or low androgen levels. It is studying the possible disturbance of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis because of the low levels of androgen are combined with normal levels of FSH and LH.
Unlike Borjeson-Forssman-Lehmann syndrome, a disorder that was determined to be very similar to WTS, the individuals with Wilson–Turner syndrome do not develop cataracts or hypermetropia later in life. By far, the most debilitating part of this disorder is intellectual disability. Many of the other symptoms are more easily managed through hormone treatment, proper diet and exercise, and speech therapy.
The syndrome is characterized by alopecia, hypogonadism, hypothyroidism, hearing loss, intellectual disability and diabetes mellitus. Electrocardiogram anomalies have also been reported.
This disease is named for its inheritance, which occurs in an x-linked recessive pattern.
In this particular form of hypoparathyroidism, the parathyroid glands are underdeveloped and therefore do not produce enough parathyroid hormone. This is caused by a mutation on the x chromosome in the region of Xq26-27.
The syndrome primarily affects young males. Preliminary studies suggest that prevalence may be 1.8 per 10,000 live male births. 50% of those affected do not live beyond 25 years of age, with deaths attributed to the impaired immune function.
Wolcott–Rallison syndrome, WRS, is a rare, autosomal recessive disorder with infancy-onset diabetes mellitus, multiple epiphyseal dysplasia, osteopenia, mental retardation or developmental delay, and hepatic and renal dysfunction as main clinical findings. Patients with WRS have mutations in the EIF2AK3 gene, which encodes the pancreatic eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2-alpha kinase 3.
As its name indicates, a person with the syndrome has one Y chromosome and four X chromosomes on the 23rd pair, thus having 49 chromosomes rather than the normal 46. As with most categories of aneuploidy disorders, 49,XXXXY syndrome is often accompanied by intellectual disability. It can be considered a form of 47, XXY Klinefelter syndrome, or a variant of it.
It is genetic but not hereditary. This means that while the genes of the parents cause the syndrome, there is a small chance of more than one child having the syndrome. The probability of inheriting the disease is about 1%.
The individuals with this syndrome are males, but 49, XXXXX also exists with similar characteristics.
Mutations in the "SLC16A2" gene cause Allan–Herndon–Dudley syndrome. The "SLC16A2" gene, also known as "MCT8", provides instructions for making a protein that plays a critical role in the development of the nervous system. This protein transports a particular hormone into nerve cells in the developing brain. This hormone, called triiodothyronine or T3, is produced by the thyroid. T3 appears to be critical for the normal formation and growth of nerve cells, as well as the development of junctions between nerve cells (synapses) where cell-to-cell communication occurs. T3 and other forms of thyroid hormone also help regulate the development of other organs and control the rate of chemical reactions in the body.
Gene mutations alter the structure and function of the SLC16A2 protein. As a result, this protein is unable to transport T3 into nerve cells effectively. A lack of this critical hormone in certain parts of the brain disrupts normal brain development, resulting in intellectual disability and problems with movement. Excess amounts of T3 circulate in the bloodstream. It is unclear if this is a consequence of compensatory hyperdeiodination or if it results from impaired uptake by certain cell types. Increased T3 levels in the blood may be toxic to some organs and contribute to the signs and symptoms of Allan–Herndon–Dudley syndrome.
This condition is inherited in an X-linked recessive pattern. A condition is considered X-linked if the mutated gene that causes the disorder is located on the X chromosome, one of the two sex chromosomes. In males (who have only one X chromosome), one altered copy of the gene in each cell is sufficient to cause the condition. In females (who have two X chromosomes), a mutation must be present in both copies of the gene to cause the disorder. Males are affected by X-linked recessive disorders much more frequently than females. A striking characteristic of X-linked inheritance is that fathers cannot pass X-linked traits to their sons.
In X-linked recessive inheritance, a female with one altered copy of the gene in each cell is called a carrier. She can pass on the mutated gene, but usually does not experience signs and symptoms of the disorder. Carriers of "SLC16A2" mutations have normal intelligence and do not experience problems with movement. Some carriers have been diagnosed with thyroid disease, a condition which is relatively common in the general population. It is unclear whether thyroid disease is related to SLC16A2 mutations in these cases.
The most common method to manage hypoglycemia and diabetes is with an insulin pump. . However in infants and very young children long acting insulins like Glargine and Levemir are preferred to prevent recurrent hypoglycemia . As soon as parent knows Walcott-Rallison syndrome is the source, treatment or therapy plans need to be drawn up along with frequent check ins to make sure kidney and liver functions are around normal and insulin therapy are working. If needed, the patient can undergo thyroxin therapy in order to maintain proper thyroid stimulating hormone levels. This has only been needed in a few cases were hypothyroidism was present in the patient.
Woodhouse–Sakati syndrome, also called hypogonadism, alopecia, diabetes mellitus, intellectual disability and extrapyramidal syndrome, is a rare autosomal recessive multisystem disorder which causes malformations throughout the body, and deficiencies affecting the endocrine system.
Patients have an essentially normal life expectancy but require regular medical follow-up.
Nutrition disorders and nutritional deficits may cause neurodevelopmental disorders, such as spina bifida, and the rarely occurring anencephaly, both of which are neural tube defects with malformation and dysfunction of the nervous system and its supporting structures, leading to serious physical disability and emotional sequelae. The most common nutritional cause of neural tube defects is folic acid deficiency in the mother, a B vitamin usually found in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and milk products. (Neural tube defects are also caused by medications and other environmental causes, many of which interfere with folate metabolism, thus they are considered to have multifactorial causes.) Another deficiency, iodine deficiency, produces a spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders ranging from mild emotional disturbance to severe mental retardation. (see also cretinism)
Excesses in both maternal and infant diets may cause disorders as well, with foods or food supplements proving toxic in large amounts. For instance in 1973 K.L. Jones and D.W. Smith of the University of Washington Medical School in Seattle found a pattern of "craniofacial, limb, and cardiovascular defects associated with prenatal onset growth deficiency and developmental delay" in children of alcoholic mothers, now called fetal alcohol syndrome, It has significant symptom overlap with several other entirely unrelated neurodevelopmental disorders. It has been discovered that iron supplementation in baby formula can be linked to lowered I.Q. and other neurodevelopmental delays.
Brain trauma in the developing human is a common cause (over 400,000 injuries per year in the US alone, without clear information as to how many produce developmental sequellae) of neurodevelopmental syndromes. It may be subdivided into two major categories, congenital injury (including injury resulting from otherwise uncomplicated premature birth) and injury occurring in infancy or childhood. Common causes of congenital injury are asphyxia (obstruction of the trachea), hypoxia (lack of oxygen to the brain) and the mechanical trauma of the birth process itself.
Opitz G/BBB Syndrome is a rare genetic condition caused by one of two major types of mutations: MID1 mutation on the short (p) arm of the X chromosome or a mutation of the 22q11.2 gene on the 22nd chromosome. Since it is a genetic disease, it is an inherited condition. However, there is an extremely wide variability in how the disease presents itself.
In terms of prevention, several researchers strongly suggest prenatal testing for at-risk pregnancies if a MID1 mutation has been identified in a family member. Doctors can perform a fetal sex test through chromosome analysis and then screen the DNA for any mutations causing the disease. Knowing that a child may be born with Opitz G/BBB syndrome could help physicians prepare for the child’s needs and the family prepare emotionally. Furthermore, genetic counseling for young adults that are affected, are carriers or are at risk of carrying is strongly suggested, as well (Meroni, Opitz G/BBB syndrome, 2012). Current research suggests that the cause is genetic and no known environmental risk factors have been documented. The only education for prevention suggested is genetic testing for at-risk young adults when a mutation is found or suspected in a family member.
The aneuploidy is thought to be caused by problems occurring during meiosis, either in the mother or in both the mother and father. Successive nondisjunctions have been observed in the mother of at least one patient.
The features of the syndrome likely arise due to failure of X-inactivation and the presence of multiple X chromosomes from the same parent causing problems with parental imprinting. In theory, X-inactivation should occur and leave only one X chromosome active in each cell. However, failure of this process has been observed in one individual studied. The reason for this is thought to be the presence of an unusually large, and imbalanced, number of X chromosomes interfering with the process.
Turner syndrome occurs in between one in 2000 and one in 5000 females at birth.
Approximately 99 percent of fetuses with Turner syndrome spontaneously terminate during the first trimester. Turner syndrome accounts for about 10 percent of the total number of spontaneous abortions in the United States.
Alopecia contractures dwarfism mental retardation syndrome or (ACD mental retardation syndrome) is a developmental disorder which causes mainly baldness and dwarfism in combination with intellectual disability; skeletal anomalies, caries and nearsightedness are also typical.
The ACD mental retardation syndrome was first described in 1980 by Albert Schinzel and only few cases have since been identified in the world. At the time Dr. Schinzel made no conclusion of the hereditary pattern of this syndrome but similarities between cases reported by year 2000 seem to suggest autosomal or x-linked recessive inheritance or possibly a dominant mutation caused by mosaicism as causes of this syndrome.
Lujan–Fryns syndrome is a rare X-linked dominant syndrome, and is therefore more common in males than females. Its prevalence within the general population has not yet been determined.
Women with Turner syndrome are almost universally infertile. While some women with Turner syndrome have successfully become pregnant and carried their pregnancies to term, this is very rare and is generally limited to those women whose karyotypes are not 45,X. Even when such pregnancies do occur, there is a higher than average risk of miscarriage or birth defects, including Turner Syndrome or Down Syndrome. Some women with Turner syndrome who are unable to conceive without medical intervention may be able to use IVF or other fertility treatments.
Usually, estrogen replacement therapy is used to spur the growth of secondary sexual characteristics at the time when puberty should onset. While very few women with Turner Syndrome menstruate spontaneously, estrogen therapy requires a regular shedding of the uterine lining ("withdrawal bleeding") to prevent its overgrowth. Withdrawal bleeding can be induced monthly, like menstruation, or less often, usually every three months, if the patient desires. Estrogen therapy does not make a woman with nonfunctional ovaries fertile, but it plays an important role in assisted reproduction; the health of the uterus must be maintained with estrogen if an eligible woman with Turner Syndrome wishes to use IVF (using donated oocytes).
Turner syndrome is a cause of primary amenorrhea, premature ovarian failure (hypergonadotropic hypogonadism), streak gonads and infertility. Failure to develop secondary sex characteristics (sexual infantilism) is typical.
Especially in mosaic cases of Turner syndrome that contains Y-chromosome (e.g. 45,X/46,XY) due to the risk of development of ovarian malignancy (most common is gonadoblastoma) gonadectomy is recommended.
Turner syndrome is characterized by primary amenorrhoea, premature ovarian failure, streak gonads and infertility. However, technology (especially oocyte donation) provides the opportunity of pregnancy in these patients.
As more women with Turner syndrome complete pregnancy thanks to modern techniques to treat infertility, it has to be noted that pregnancy may be a risk of cardiovascular complications for the mother. Indeed, several studies had suggested an increased risk for aortic dissection in pregnancy. The influence of estrogen has been examined but remains unclear. It seems that the high risk of aortic dissection during pregnancy in women with Turner syndrome may be due to the increased hemodynamic load rather than the high estrogen rate. Of course, these findings are important and need to be remembered while following a pregnant patient with Turner syndrome.
X-linked intellectual disability (previously known as X-linked mental retardation) refers to forms of intellectual disability which are specifically associated with X-linked recessive inheritance.
As with most X-linked disorders, males are more heavily affected than females. Females with one affected X chromosome and one normal X chromosome tend to have milder symptoms.
Unlike many other types of intellectual disability, the genetics of these conditions are relatively well understood. It has been estimated there are ~200 genes involved in this syndrome; of these ~100 have been identified.
X-linked intellectual disability accounts for ~16% of all cases of intellectual disability in males.
Mental retardation and microcephaly with pontine and cerebellar hypoplasia (MICPCH), also known as Mental retardation, X-linked, syndromic, Najm type (MRXSNA), is a rare genetic disorder of infants characterised by intellectual disability and pontocerebellar hypoplasia.
The disorder is associated with a mutation in the "CASK" gene which is transmitted in an X-linked manner. As with the vast majority of genetic disorders, there is no known cure to MICPCH.
The following values seem to be aberrant in children with CASK gene defects: lactate, pyruvate, 2-ketoglutarate, adipic acid and suberic acid, which seems to backup the proposal that CASK affects mitochondrial function. It is also speculated that phosphoinositide 3-kinase in the inositol metabolism is impacted in the disease, causing folic acid metabolization problems.
Several X-linked syndromes include intellectual disability as part of the presentation. These include:
- Coffin–Lowry syndrome
- MASA syndrome
- MECP2 duplication syndrome
- X-linked alpha thalassemia mental retardation syndrome
- mental retardation and microcephaly with pontine and cerebellar hypoplasia
Global developmental delay is an umbrella term used when children are significantly delayed in their cognitive and physical development. There is usually a more specific condition which causes this delay, such as Fragile X syndrome or other chromosonal abnormalities. However, it is sometimes difficult to identify this underlying condition.
Other terms associated with this condition are failure to thrive (which focuses on lack of weight gain and physical development), intellectual disability (which focuses on intellectual deficits and the changes they cause to development) and developmental disability (which can refer to both intellectual and physical disability altering development).