Affected individuals present with a broad array of medical and behavioral manifestations (tables 1 and 2). Patients are consistently characterized by global developmental delay, intellectual disability, speech abnormalities, ASD-like behaviors, hypotonia and mild dysmorphic features. Table 1 summarizes the dysmorphic and medical conditions that have been reported in individuals with PMS. Table 2 summarize the psychiatric and neurological associated with PMS. Most of the studies include small samples or relied on parental report or medical record review to collect information, which can account in part for the variability in the presentation of some of the presenting features. Larger prospective studies are needed to further characterize the phenotype.

Table 1: Dysmorphic features and medical comorbid conditions that have been reported in individuals with Phelan McDermid Syndrome.

Table 2: Psychiatric and Neurologic Manifestations associated with Phelan McDermid Syndrome

The most common characteristics include a distinct craniofacial phenotype (microcephaly, micrognathia, short philtrum, prominent glabella, ocular hypertelorism, dysplastic ears and periauricular tags), growth restriction, intellectual disability, muscle hypotonia, seizures, and congenital heart defects. Less common characteristics include hypospadias, colobomata of the iris, renal anomalies, and deafness. Antibody deficiencies are also common, including common variable immunodeficiency and IgA deficiency. T-cell immunity is normal.

The most common symptoms are intellectual disability and recurrent seizures developing in infancy or early childhood. Typically the seizures are resistant to treatment with anti-epileptic drugs. Other symptoms may include:

- Microcephaly

- Lymphedema

- Facial abnormalities

- Immune deficiencies

- Abnormalities of retina

- Slow growth

- Short stature

Of those fetuses that do survive to gestation and subsequent birth, common abnormalities may include:

- Nervous system

- Intellectual disability and motor disorder

- Microcephaly

- Holoprosencephaly (failure of the forebrain to divide properly).

- Structural eye defects, including microphthalmia, Peters' anomaly, cataract, iris or fundus (coloboma), retinal dysplasia or retinal detachment, sensory nystagmus, cortical visual loss, and optic nerve hypoplasia

- Meningomyelocele (a spinal defect)

- Musculoskeletal and cutaneous

- Polydactyly (extra digits)

- Cyclopia

- Proboscis

- Congenital trigger digits

- Low-set ears

- Prominent heel

- Deformed feet known as rocker-bottom feet

- Omphalocele (abdominal defect)

- Abnormal palm pattern

- Overlapping of fingers over thumb

- Cutis aplasia (missing portion of the skin/hair)

- Cleft palate

- Urogenital

- Abnormal genitalia

- Kidney defects

- Other

- Heart defects (ventricular septal defect) (Patent Ductus Arteriosus)

- Dextrocardia

- Single umbilical artery

22q13 deletion syndrome (spoken as "twenty-two q one three", see Locus (genetics)) is a genetic disorder caused by deletions or rearrangements on the q terminal end (long arm) of chromosome 22. Any abnormal genetic variation in the q13 region that presents with significant manifestations (phenotype) typical of a terminal deletion may be diagnosed as 22q13 deletion syndrome. 22q13 deletion syndrome is often called Phelan-McDermid syndrome (abbreviated PMS). There is disagreement among researchers as to the exact definition of 22q13 deletion syndrome. The Developmental Synaptopathies Consortium defines PMS as being caused by "SHANK3" mutations, a definition that appears to exclude terminal deletions. The requirement to include "SHANK3" in the definition is supported by many, but not by those who first described 22q13 deletion syndrome.

A prototypical terminal deletion of 22q13 can be uncovered by karyotype analysis, but many terminal and interstitial deletions are too small. The availability of DNA microarray technology for revealing multiple genetic problems simultaneously has been the diagnostic tool of choice. The falling cost for whole exome sequencing and, eventually, whole genome sequencing, may replace DNA microarray technology for candidate evaluation. However, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) tests remain valuable for diagnosing cases of mosaicism (mosaic genetics) and chromosomal rearrangements (e.g., ring chromosome, unbalanced chromosomal translocation). Although early researchers sought a monogenic (single gene genetic disorder) explanation, recent studies have not supported that hypothesis (see Etiology, below).

Wolf–Hirschhorn syndrome (WHS), also known as chromosome deletion Dillan 4p syndrome, Pitt–Rogers–Danks syndrome (PRDS) or Pitt syndrome, was first described in 1961 by Americans Herbert L. Cooper and Kurt Hirschhorn and, thereafter, gained worldwide attention by publications by the German Ulrich Wolf, and Hirschhorn and their co-workers, specifically their articles in the German scientific magazine "Humangenetik". It is a characteristic phenotype resulting from a partial deletion of chromosomal material of the short arm of chromosome 4 (del(4p16.3)).

The brain is abnormally smooth, with fewer folds and grooves. The face, especially in children, has distinct characteristics including a short nose with upturned nares, thickened upper lip with a thin vermilion upper border, frontal bossing, small jaw, low-set posteriorily rotated ears, sunken appearance in the middle of the face, widely spaced eyes, and hypertelorism. The forehead is prominent with bitemporal hollowing.

Characteristics that are not visual include mental retardation, pre- and postnatal growth retardation, epilepsy, and reduced lifespan.

Failure to thrive, feeding difficulties, seizures and decreased spontaneous activity are often seen. Death usually occurs in infancy and childhood.

Multiple abnormalities of the brain, kidneys, and gastrointestinal tract (the stomach and intestines) may occur.

Ring chromosome 14 syndrome is a very rare human chromosome abnormality. It occurs when one or both of the telomeres that mark the ends of chromosome 14 are lost allowing the now uncapped ends to fuse together forming a ring chromosome. It causes a number of serious health issues.

Individuals with Dup15q syndrome are at high risk for epilepsy, autism, and intellectual disability. Motor impairments are very common in individuals with the disorder. Rates of epilepsy in children with isodicentric duplications are higher than in children with interstitial duplications. A majority of patients with either duplication type (isodicentric or interstitial) have a history of gastrointestinal problems.

A study at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) of 13 children with Dup15q syndrome and 13 children with nonsyndromic ASD (i.e., autism not caused by a known genetic disorder) found that, compared to children with nonsyndromic autism, children with Dup15q had significantly lower autism severity as measured by the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) (all children in the study met diagnostic criteria for ASD). However, children with Dup15q syndrome had significantly greater motor impairment and impairment of daily living skills than children in the nonsyndromic ASD group. Within the Dup15q syndrome cohort, children with epilepsy had greater cognitive impairment.

Recurrent seizures are the most recognizable feature of this syndrome and are most often the first sign of this syndrome. These syndromes are often ongoing and poorly responsive to anti-seizure medications. Most patients develop seizures the first few years of life, but the age of onset ranges from ages 1 to 17. Different types of seizure have been reported in this syndrome. The most common seizure type appears to be brief focal onset epileptic seizures with impairment of consciousness and awareness, known as complex partial seizures. Other features you may see in these complex partial seizures include staring, oral automatisms, unspecified automatic behavior, involuntary motor movements and/or head turning.

Furthermore, many patients have subtle nighttime behavioral changes, such as stretching, rubbing, and turning resembling a nighttime awakening. However, electroencephalography (EEG) studies during these events show abnormal electrical seizure activity, indicating that nocturnal behavioral events are actually subtle nocturnal seizures or non-convulsive status epilepticus. Many of these patients experience their seizures only during sleep. They can have seemingly bizarre features as they originate from the frontal lobe of the brain. Often, individuals with ring chromosome 20 syndrome are initially found to have complex partial seizures of frontal lobe origin, though imaging studies do not show a corresponding structural brain abnormality. In certain patients, these seizures may secondarily generalized.

Individuals from the ages of 0–17 years should be considered for ring 20 chromosome analysis if they have: predominantly complex partial seizures, medically refractory cryptogenic epilepsy, Lennox-Gastaut-like features with no cause identified, frequent subtle nocturnal seizures, an EEG showing prolonged high voltage frontally dominant slowing intermixed with spikes or sharp waves, an EEG showing overlapping features of continuous slow spike and wave discharges in sleep (CSWS) and electrical status epilepticus in sleep (ESES), and/or subsequent cognitive impairment/learning difficulties/mild retardation.These patients will typically have a normal childhood development until onset of epilepsy and lack evidence of dysmorphism or other congenital malformations.

Individuals affected by AAA have adrenal insufficiency/Addison's disease due to ACTH resistance, alacrima (absence of tear secretion), and achalasia (a failure of a ring of muscle fibers, such as a sphincter, to relax) of the lower esophageal sphincter at the cardia which delays food going to the stomach and causes dilation of the thoracic esophagus. There may also be signs of autonomic dysfunction with AAA, such as pupillary abnormalities, an abnormal reaction to intradermal histamine, abnormal sweating, orthostatic hypotension, and disturbances of the heart rate. Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) is often mentioned as an early sign. The disorder has also been associated with mild mental retardation.

The syndrome is highly variable. Managed effectively, affected individuals can have a normal lifespan and bear children.

Ring chromosome 20, ring-shaped chromosome 20 or r(20) syndrome is a rare human chromosome abnormality where the two arms of chromosome 20 fuse to form a ring chromosome. The syndrome is associated with epileptic seizures, behaviour disorders and mental retardation.

When not all cells contain a ring chromosome 20, the individual suffers from ring 20 chromosomal mosaicism.Ring Chromosome 20 syndrome is thought to be an underdiagnosed condition. Since chromosomal analysis or karyotype testing is not a routine investigation for patients with epilepsy, the diagnosis of ring chromosome 20 syndrome is typically delayed or unrecognized.

Young–Madders syndrome is detectable from the fetal stage of development largely due to the distinctive consequences of holoprosencephaly, a spectrum of defects or malformations of the brain and face. Facial defects which may manifest in the eyes, nose, and upper lip, featuring cyclopia, anosmia, or in the growth of only a single central incisor, and severe overlapping of the bones of the skull. Cardiac and in some cases pulmonary deformities are present. Another signature deformity is bilateral polydactyly, and many patients also suffer from hypoplasia and genital deformities.

Jacobsen Syndrome is a rare chromosomal disorder resulting from deletion of genes from chromosome 11 that includes band 11q24.1. It is a congenital disorder. Since the deletion takes place on the q arm of chromosome 11, it is also called 11q terminal deletion disorder. The deletion may range from 5 million to 16 million deleted DNA base pairs. The severity of symptoms depends on the number of deletions. The more deletions there are more severe the symptoms are likely to be. People with Jacobsen syndrome have serious intellectual disabilities, dysmorphic features, delayed development and a variety of physical problems including heart defects. Research shows that almost 88.5% of people with Jacobsen Syndrome have a bleeding disorder called Paris-Trousseau syndrome. [ Jacobsen Syndrome is catastrophic in 1 out of every 5 cases, since children usually die within the first 2 years of life due to heart complications.

Genetic testing methods such as fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and chromosomal microarray are available for diagnosing Dup15q syndrome and similar genetic disorders.

With the increase in genetic testing availability, more often duplications outside of the 15q11.2-13.1 region are being diagnosed. The global chromosome 15q11.2-13.1 duplication syndrome specific groups only provide medical information and research for chromosome 15q11.2-13.1 duplication syndrome and not the outlying 15q duplications.

Triple-A syndrome or AAA syndrome, also known as achalasia-addisonianism-alacrima syndrome or Allgrove syndrome, is a rare autosomal recessive congenital disorder. In most cases, there is no family history of it. The syndrome was first identified by Jeremy Allgrove and colleagues in 1978. The syndrome involves achalasia, addisonianism (adrenal insufficiency of primary type), and alacrima (insufficiency of tears). Alacrima is usually the earliest manifestation. It is a progressive disorder that can take years to develop the full blown clinical picture.

Miller–Dieker syndrome (abbreviated MDS), Miller–Dieker lissencephaly syndrome (MDLS), and chromosome 17p13.3 deletion syndrome is a micro deletion syndrome characterized by congenital malformations. Congenital malformations are physical defects detectable in an infant at birth which can involve many different parts of the body including the brain, hearts, lungs, liver, bones, or intestinal tract.

MDS is a contiguous gene syndrome - a disorder due to the deletion of multiple gene loci adjacent to one another. The disorder arises from the deletion of part of the small arm of chromosome 17p (which includes both the "LIS1" and "14-3-3 epsilon" genes), leading to partial monosomy. There may be unbalanced translocations (i.e. 17q:17p or 12q:17p), or the presence of a ring chromosome 17.

This syndrome should not be confused with Miller syndrome, an unrelated rare genetic disorder, or Miller Fisher syndrome, a form of Guillain–Barré syndrome.

The additional chromosome 22 usually arises spontaneously. It may be hereditary and parents may be mosaic for the marker chromosome but show no phenotypic symptoms of the syndrome.

The chromosomal area included in the cat eye syndrome "critical region" is 22pter→q11.

Ring 18 causes a wide range of medical and developmental concerns. As discussed above, people with ring 18 can have features of both distal 18q- and 18p-. The features of distal 18q- and 18p- vary greatly because of the variability of the deletion size and breakpoint locations between people. Because ring 18 can involve unique deletions of both the p and q arms of the chromosome there is twice as much reason for the variability between individuals. This variation is also partly attributable to the incidence of mosaicism, which is relatively common in people with ring 18.

- Holoprosencephaly has been reported in some people with ring 18. This is due to the deletion of the TGIF gene on the short arm of chromosome 18 in some people with ring 18.Approximately 30-40% of people with ring 18 have a congenital heart anomaly. Septal defects are the most common type of defect reported in this population.

- Hypotonia is frequently seen in the ring 18 population. Seizures, though uncommon, have been reported in people with ring 18.

- In some children without “classic” holoprosencephaly, microforms of holoprosencephaly may be noted on MRI, including missing olfactory tracts and bulbs and absent or hypoplastic corpus callosum.

- Strabismus as well as nystagmus have both been reported in infants and children with ring 18.

- Hearing loss has been reported and may be related to ear canal atresia or stenosis.

- Umbilical and inguinal hernias have been reported in a small number of people with ring 18.

- Unilateral renal hypoplasia and aplasia have both been reported in individuals with ring 18. Hydronephrosis as well as pyelonephritis have also been reported in a few individuals. Cryptorchidism, hypospadias, and micropenis have been seen in males with ring 18, while females have been reported with hypoplastic labia.

- Foot abnormalities are common within the ring 18 population. Scoliosis as well as pectus excavatum have also been frequently reported.

- Several people with ring 18 have growth hormone deficiency. Hypothyroidism has also been reported in a minority of people.

- Cognitive ability varies; according to a literature review, the degree of impairment may fall anywhere between the mild and severe ends of the spectrum.

- Facial features of ring 18 include low-set, dysplastic ears, epicanthic folds, and hypertelorism. Micrognathia has also been reported.

Patau syndrome is a syndrome caused by a chromosomal abnormality, in which some or all of the cells of the body contain extra genetic material from chromosome 13. The extra genetic material disrupts normal development, causing multiple and complex organ defects.

This can occur either because each cell contains a full extra copy of chromosome 13 (a disorder known as trisomy 13 or trisomy D), or because each cell contains an extra partial copy of the chromosome (i.e., Robertsonian translocation) or because of mosaic Patau syndrome. Full trisomy 13 is caused by nondisjunction of chromosomes during meiosis (the mosaic form is caused by nondisjunction during mitosis).

Like all nondisjunction conditions (such as Down syndrome and Edwards syndrome), the risk of this syndrome in the offspring increases with maternal age at pregnancy, with about 31 years being the average. Patau syndrome affects somewhere between 1 in 10,000 and 1 in 21,700 live births.

A ring chromosome is an aberrant chromosome whose ends have fused together to form a ring. Ring chromosomes were first discovered by Lilian Vaughan Morgan in 1926. A ring chromosome is denoted by the symbol "r" in human genetics and "R" in Drosophila genetics. Ring chromosomes may form in cells following genetic damage by mutagens like radiation, but they may also arise spontaneously during development.

Ring 18 is a genetic condition caused by a deletion of the two tips of chromosome 18 followed by the formation of a ring-shaped chromosome. It was first reported in 1964.

The term "cat eye" syndrome was coined because of the particular appearance of the vertical colobomas in the eyes of some patients. However, over half of the CES patients in the literature do not present with this trait.

Young–Madders syndrome, alternatively known as Pseudotrisomy 13 syndrome or holoprosencephaly–polydactyly syndrome, is a genetic disorder resulting from defective and duplicated chromosomes which result in holoprosencephaly, polydactyly, facial malformations and mental retardation, with a significant variance in the severity of symptoms being seen across known cases. Many cases often suffer with several other genetic disorders, and some have presented with hypoplasia, cleft lip, cardiac lesions and other heart defects. In one case in 1991 and another in 2000 the condition was found in siblings who were the product of incest. Many cases are diagnosed prenatally and often in siblings. Cases are almost fatal in the prenatal stage with babies being stillborn.

Though it is now thought that earlier cases were misdiagnosed as other genetic disorders with similar pathology—such as Smith–Lemli–Opitz syndrome—the earliest publicised recognition of the condition as a new, hitherto unclassified, genetic disorder was made by two British doctors in Leicester in 1987. Though they identified the condition, later named for them, they did not identify the genetic anomalies responsible but suspected a link with trisomy 13 due to the similar symptoms. With only one or two occurrences documented towards the end of the decade, a group of eight doctors published a five-patient case-study in 1991 which identified the likely chromosomal factors that caused the condition, similar to but distinct from trisomy 13, and gave it the name 'holoprosencephaly–polydactyly syndrome' based on its two most prolific presenting conditions. Later research showed that the condition could manifest in patients with normal karyotypes, without duplication of the chromosomes, and the most recent genetic research implicates problems with the gene code FBXW11 as a likely cause.

Symptoms vary from case to case, and may correlate to how much of the chromosome is missing. Symptoms that are frequently observed with the condition include:

- Low birth weight

- Malformations of the head

- Eye abnormalities

- Defects of the hands and feet, polydactyly

- Reproductive abnormalities (males)

- Psychological and motor retardation