Worldwide, it has been documented in 110 persons, 85 of them Finnish. It is a recessive genetic disease. Many people with Mulibrey nanism have parents who are closely related, consanguine. Signs and symptoms are variable, siblings who suffer this disease sometimes do not share the same symptoms.

Mulibrey nanism ("MUscle-LIver-BRain-EYe nanism"), also called Perheentupa syndrome and pericardial constriction with growth failure, is a rare autosomal recessive congenital disorder. It causes severe growth failure along with abnormalities of the heart, muscle, liver, brain and eye. TRIM37 is responsible for various cellular functions including developmental patterning.

Its exact cause is unknown, but present research points toward a genetic component, possibly following maternal genes.

It involves hypomethylation of "H19" and "IGF2". In 10% of the cases the syndrome is associated with maternal uniparental disomy (UPD) on chromosome 7. This is an imprinting error where the person receives two copies of chromosome 7 from the mother (maternally inherited) rather than one from each parent.

Like other imprinting disorders (e.g. Prader–Willi syndrome, Angelman syndrome, and Beckwith–Wiedemann syndrome), Silver–Russell syndrome may be associated with the use of assisted reproductive technologies such as in vitro fertilization.

It is supposed to be caused by defects of genes on chromosome 3 and 18. One form of Seckel syndrome can be caused by mutation in the gene encoding the ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3 related protein () which maps to chromosome 3q22.1-q24. This gene is central in the cell's DNA damage response and repair mechanism.

Types include:

Medical conditions include frequent ear infection, hearing loss, hypotonia, developmental problems, respiratory problems, eating difficulties, light sensitivity, and esophageal reflux.

Data on fertility and the development of secondary sex characteristics is relatively sparse. It has been reported that both male and female patients have had children. Males who have reproduced have all had the autosomal dominant form of the disorder; the fertility of those with the recessive variant is unknown.

Researchers have also reported abnormalities in the renal tract of affected patients. Hydronephrosis is a relatively common condition, and researchers have theorized that this may lead to urinary tract infections. In addition, a number of patients have suffered from cystic dysplasia of the kidney.

A number of other conditions are often associated with Robinow syndrome. About 15% of reported patients suffer from congenital heart defects. Though there is no clear pattern, the most common conditions include pulmonary stenosis and atresia. In addition, though intelligence is generally normal, around 15% of patients show developmental delays.

The Seckel syndrome or microcephalic primordial dwarfism (also known as bird-headed dwarfism, Harper's syndrome, Virchow-Seckel dwarfism, and Bird-headed dwarf of Seckel) is an extremely rare congenital nanosomic disorder.

Inheritance is autosomal recessive.

It is characterized by intrauterine growth retardation and postnatal dwarfism with a small head, narrow bird-like face with a beak-like nose, large eyes with down-slanting palpebral fissures , receding mandible and intellectual disability.

A mouse model has been developed. This mouse model is characterized by a severe deficiency of ATR protein. These mice suffer high levels of replicative stress and DNA damage. Adult Seckel mice display accelerated aging. These findings are consistent with the DNA damage theory of aging.

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.

There are as yet no effective treatments for primordial dwarfism. It is known that PD is caused by inheriting a mutant gene from each parent. The lack of normal growth in the disorder is not due to a deficiency of growth hormone, as in hypopituitary dwarfism. Administering growth hormone, therefore, has little or no effect on the growth of the individual with primordial dwarfism, except in the case of Russell Silver Syndrome. Individuals with RSS respond favorably to growth hormone treatment, this fact is supported by The Magic Foundation. Children with RSS that are treated with growth hormone before puberty may achieve several inches of additional height. In January 2008, it was published that mutations in the pericentrin gene (PCNT) were found to cause primordial dwarfism. Pericentrin has a role in cell division, proper chromosome segregation, and cytokinesis.

The vast majority of cases are due to spontaneous genetic mutations.

It can be associated with mutations affecting the cohesin complex.

Multiple genes have been associated with the condition. In 2004, researchers at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (United States) and the University of Newcastle upon Tyne (England) identified a gene (NIPBL) on chromosome 5 that causes CdLS when it is mutated. Since then, additional genes have been found (SMC1A, SMC3 and HDAC8) that cause CdLS when changed. There are likely other genes as well. Researchers hope to gain a better understanding of why CdLS varies so widely from one individual to another and what can be done to improve the quality of life for people with the syndrome.

The latter two genes seem to correlate with a milder form of the syndrome.

In July 2012, the fourth “CdLS gene”—HDAC8—was announced. Many parents and professionals have

questions about this latest finding and what it means. HDAC8 is an X-linked gene, meaning it is located on the X chromosome. Individuals with CdLS who have the gene change in HDAC8 make up just a small portion of all people with CdLS.

Evidence of a linkage at chromosome 3q26.3 is mixed.

Stimmler syndrome is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder whose symptoms appear before birth or during infancy. In a study of two sisters born within a year of each other, both with Stimmler syndrome, it was found that high levels of alanine, pyruvate, and lactate were present in both the blood and urine. It was believed that the alanine was derived from the pyruvate.

Stimmler syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive congenital disorder first described by Stimmler et al. in 1970. It is characterized by dwarfism, diabetes, a small head, and high levels of alanine in the urine.

Until recently, the medical literature did not indicate a connection among many genetic disorders, both genetic syndromes and genetic diseases, that are now being found to be related. As a result of new genetic research, some of these are, in fact, highly related in their root cause despite the widely varying set of medical symptoms that are clinically visible in the disorders. Ellis–van Creveld syndrome is one such disease, part of an emerging class of diseases called ciliopathies. The underlying cause may be a dysfunctional molecular mechanism in the primary cilia structures of the cell, organelles which are present in many cellular types throughout the human body. The cilia defects adversely affect "numerous critical developmental signaling pathways" essential to cellular development and thus offer a plausible hypothesis for the often multi-symptom nature of a large set of syndromes and diseases. Known ciliopathies include primary ciliary dyskinesia, Bardet–Biedl syndrome, polycystic kidney and liver disease, nephronophthisis, Alstrom syndrome, Meckel–Gruber syndrome and some forms of retinal degeneration.

Weyers acrofacial dysostosis is due to another mutation in the EVC gene and hence is allelic with Ellis–van Creveld syndrome.

Patients with CHH usually suffer from cellular immunodeficiency. In the study of 108 Finnish patients with CHH there was detected mild to moderate form of lymphopenia, decreased delayed type of hypersensitivity and impaired responses to phytohaemagglutinin. This leads to susceptibility to and, in some more severe cases, mortality from infections early in childhood. There has also been detected combined immunodeficiency in some patients

Patients with CHH often have increased predispositions to malignancies.

Majewski's polydactyly syndrome, also known as polydactyly with neonatal chondrodystrophy type I, short rib-polydactyly syndrome type II, and short rib-polydactyly syndrome, is a lethal form of neonatal dwarfism characterized by osteochondrodysplasia (skeletal abnormalities in the development of bone and cartilage) with a narrow thorax, polysyndactyly, disproportionately short tibiae, thorax dysplasia, hypoplastic lungs and respiratory insufficiency. Associated anomalies include protruding abdomen, brachydactyly, peculiar faces, hypoplastic epiglottis, cardiovascular defects, renal cysts, and also genital anomalies. Death occurs before or at birth.

The disease is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern.

It was characterized in 1971.

A large British study from 2008 found a median estimated life expectancy of 11.6 years.

Genetic studies have linked the autosomal recessive form of the disorder to the "ROR2" gene on position 9 of the long arm of chromosome 9. The gene is responsible for aspects of bone and cartilage growth. This same gene is involved in causing autosomal dominant brachydactyly B.

The autosomal dominant form has been linked to three genes - WNT5A, Segment polarity protein dishevelled homolog DVL-1 (DVL1) and Segment polarity protein dishevelled homolog DVL-3 (DVL3). This form is often caused by new mutations and is generally less severe then the recessive form. Two further genes have been linked to this disorder - Frizzled-2 (FZD2) and Nucleoredoxin (NXN gene). All of these genes belong to the same metabolic pathway - the WNT system. This system is involved in secretion for various compounds both in the fetus and in the adult.

A fetal ultrasound can offer prenatal diagnosis 19 weeks into pregnancy. However, the characteristics of a fetus suffering from the milder dominant form may not always be easy to differentiate from a more serious recessive case. Genetic counseling is an option given the availability of a family history.

Ellis–van Creveld syndrome often is the result of founder effects in isolated human populations, such as the Amish and some small island inhabitants. Although relatively rare, this disorder does occur with higher incidence within founder-effect populations due to lack of genetic variability. Observation of the inheritance pattern has illustrated that the disease is autosomal recessive, meaning that both parents have to carry the gene in order for an individual to be affected by the disorder.

Ellis–van Creveld syndrome is caused by a mutation in the "EVC" gene, as well as by a mutation in a nonhomologous gene, "EVC2", located close to the EVC gene in a head-to-head configuration. The gene was identified by positional cloning. The EVC gene maps to the chromosome 4 short arm (4p16). The function of a healthy EVC gene is not well understood at this time.

Life expectancy for individuals with hypochondroplasia is normal; the maximum height is about 147 cm or 4.8 ft.

Silver–Russell syndrome (SRS), also called Silver–Russell dwarfism or Russell–Silver syndrome (RSS) is a growth disorder occurring in approximately 1/50,000 to 1/100,000 births. In the United States it is usually referred to as Russell–Silver syndrome, and Silver–Russell syndrome elsewhere. It is one of 200 types of dwarfism and one of five types of primordial dwarfism and is one of the few forms that is considered treatable in some cases.

There is no statistical significance of the syndrome occurring preferentially in either males or females.

Johanson–Blizzard syndrome (JBS) is a rare, sometimes fatal autosomal recessive multisystem congenital disorder featuring abnormal development of the pancreas, nose and scalp, with mental retardation, hearing loss and growth failure. It is sometimes described as a form of ectodermal dysplasia.

The disorder is especially noted for causing profound developmental errors and exocrine dysfunction of the pancreas, and it is considered to be an inherited pancreatic disease.

Cornelia de Lange Syndrome (CdLS) is a very rare genetic disorder present from birth, but not always diagnosed at birth. It causes a range of physical, cognitive, and medical challenges and affects both sexes equally. The syndrome is named after Dutch pediatrician Cornelia Catharina de Lange, who described it.

It is often termed Bushy Syndrome and is also known as Amsterdam dwarfism. It is a genetic disorder that can lead to severe developmental anomalies. It affects the physical and intellectual development of a child. Exact incidence is unknown, but it is estimated at 1 in 10,000 to 30,000.

Genetic

- Inborn errors of metabolism

1. Congenital disorder of glycosylation

2. Mitochondrial disorders

3. Peroxisomal disorder

4. Glucose transporter defect

5. Menkes disease

6. Congenital disorders of amino acid metabolism

7. Organic acidemia

Syndromes

- Contiguous gene deletion

1. 17p13.3 deletion (Miller–Dieker syndrome)

- Single gene defects

1. Rett syndrome (primarily girls)

2. Nijmegen breakage syndrome

3. X-linked lissencephaly with abnormal genitalia

4. Aicardi–Goutières syndrome

5. Ataxia telangiectasia

6. Cohen syndrome

7. Cockayne syndrome

Acquired

- Disruptive injuries

1. Traumatic brain injury

2. Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy

3. Ischemic stroke

4. Hemorrhagic stroke

- Infections

1. Congenital HIV encephalopathy

2. Meningitis

3. Encephalitis

- Toxins

1. Lead poisoning

2. Chronic renal failure

- Deprivation

1. Hypothyroidism

2. Anemia

3. Congenital heart disease

4. Malnutrition

Genetic factors may play a role in causing some cases of microcephaly. Relationships have been found between autism, duplications of chromosomes, and macrocephaly on one side. On the other side, a relationship has been found between schizophrenia, deletions of chromosomes, and microcephaly. Moreover, an association has been established between common genetic variants within known microcephaly genes ("MCPH1, CDK5RAP2") and normal variation in brain structure as measured with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)i.e., primarily brain cortical surface area and total brain volume.

The spread of Aedes mosquito-borne Zika virus has been implicated in increasing levels of congenital microcephaly by the International Society for Infectious Diseases and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Zika can spread from a pregnant woman to her fetus. This can result in other severe brain malformations and birth defects. A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine has documented a case in which they found evidence of the Zika virus in the brain of a fetus that displayed the morphology of microcephaly.

Primordial dwarfism is a form of dwarfism that results in a smaller body size in all stages of life beginning from before birth. More specifically, primordial dwarfism is a diagnostic category including specific types of profoundly proportionate dwarfism, in which individuals are extremely small for their age, even as a fetus. Most individuals with primordial dwarfism are not diagnosed until they are about 3-5 years of age.

Medical professionals typically diagnose the fetus as being small for the gestational age, or as having intrauterine growth disability when an ultrasound is conducted. Typically, people with primordial dwarfism are born with very low birth weights. After birth, growth continues at a much slower rate, leaving individuals with primordial dwarfism perpetually years behind their peers in stature and in weight.

Most cases of short stature are caused by skeletal or endocrine disorders. The five subtypes of primordial dwarfism are among the most severe forms of the 200 types of dwarfism, and some sources estimate that there are only 100 individuals in the world with the disorder. Other sources list the number of people

currently afflicted as high as 100 in North America.

It is rare for individuals affected by primordial dwarfism to live past the age of 30. In the case of microcephalic osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism type 2 (MOPDII) there can be increased risk of vascular problems, which may cause premature death.

Sensenbrenner syndrome (OMIM #218330) is a rare (less than 20 cases reported by 2010) multisystem disease first described in 1975. It is inherited in an autosomal recessive fashion, and a number of genes appear to be responsible. Three genes responsible have been identified: intraflagellar transport (IFT)122 (WDR10), IFT43 — a subunit of the IFT complex A machinery of primary cilia, and WDR35 (IFT121: TULP4)

It is also known as Sensenbrenner–Dorst–Owens syndrome, Levin Syndrome I and cranioectodermal dysplasia (CED)

SCARF syndrome is a rare syndrome characterized by skeletal abnormalities, cutis laxa, craniostenosis, ambiguous genitalia, retardation, and facial abnormalities. It shares some features with Lenz-Majewski hyperostotic dwarfism syndrome.