Polyps are most frequent in the stomach and large intestine, are also found in the small intestine, and are least frequent in the esophagus. A biopsy will reveal them to be hamartomas; the possibility that they progress to cancer is generally considered to be low, although it has been reported multiple times in the past. Chronic diarrhea and protein-losing enteropathy are often observed. Possible collateral features include variable anomalies of ectodermal tissues, such as alopecia, atrophy of the nails, or skin pigmentation

Cronkhite–Canada syndrome is a rare syndrome characterized by multiple polyps of the digestive tract. It is sporadic (i.e. it does not seem to be a hereditary disease), and it is currently considered acquired and idiopathic (i.e. cause remains unknown).

About two-thirds of patients are of Japanese descent and the male to female ratio is 2:1. It was characterized in 1955.

Symptoms begin in infancy and include:

- hypotonia

- areflexia

- amyotrophy

- variable degrees of dysgenesis of the corpus callosum

- mild to severe intellectual and developmental delay

- psychiatric problems including paranoid delusions, depression, hallucinations and autistic-like behavior

Swyer–James syndrome (SJS, also called Swyer–James–Macleod's syndrome) is a rare lung disorder found by English chest physician William Mathiseon Macleod, and (simultaneously) by physician Paul Robert Swyer and radiologist George James in the 1950s in Canada.

Swyer–James syndrome is a manifestation of postinfectious obliterative bronchiolitis. In SJS, the involved lung or portion of the lung does not grow normally and is slightly smaller than the opposite lung. The characteristic radiographic appearance is that of pulmonary hyperlucency, caused by overdistention of the alveoli in conjunction with diminished arterial flow. and has been linked to adenovirus type 21.

In appearance Swyer–James normally leaves shadowing in a CT scan in the upper lobar regions of one or (rarely) both lungs. Patients with the illness operate in much the same way as patients with mild bronchiectasis. As a result, the illness can go undiagnosed for some time. With current pharmaceutical developments, the prognosis is good for sufferers of the illness to lead normal and healthy lives.

Andermann syndrome also known as agenesis of corpus callosum with neuronopathy (ACCPN), Charlevoix disease among others is a very rare neurodegenerative genetic disorder that damages the nerves used to control muscles and related to sensation, and is often associated with agenesis of the corpus collosum.

It was first described by Eva Andermann et al. in 1972.

Most of the signs and symptoms of the Joubert syndrome appear very early in infancy with most children showing delays in gross motor milestones. Although other signs and symptoms vary widely from individual to individual, they generally fall under the hallmark of cerebellum involvement or in this case, lack thereof. Consequently, the most common features include ataxia (lack of muscle control), hyperpnea (abnormal breathing patterns), sleep apnea, abnormal eye and tongue movements, and hypotonia in early childhood. Other malformations such as polydactyly (extra fingers and toes), cleft lip or palate, tongue abnormalities, and seizures may also occur. Developmental delays, including cognitive, are always present to some degree.

Those suffering from this syndrome often exhibit specific facial features such as a broad forehead, arched eyebrows, ptosis (droopy eyelids), hypertelorism (widely spaced eyes), low-set ears and a triangle shaped mouth. Additionally, this disease can include a broad range of other abnormalities to other organ systems such as retinal dystrophy, kidney diseases, liver diseases, skeletal deformities and endocrine (hormonal) problems.

Joubert syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive genetic disorder that affects the cerebellum, an area of the brain that controls balance and coordination.

Joubert syndrome is one of the many genetic syndromes associated with syndromic retinitis pigmentosa. The syndrome was first identified in 1969 by pediatric neurologist Marie Joubert in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, while working at the Montreal Neurological Institute and McGill University.

"Laboratory changes": massive accumulation of chylomicrons in the plasma and corresponding severe hypertriglyceridemia. Typically, the plasma in a fasting blood sample appears creamy (plasma lactescence).

"Clinical symptoms:" The disease often presents in infancy with colicky pain, failure to thrive, and other symptoms and signs of the chylomicronemia syndrome. In women the use of estrogens or first pregnancy are also well known trigger factors for initial manifestation of LPLD. At all ages, the most common clinical manifestation is recurrent abdominal pain and acute pancreatitis. The pain may be epigastric, with radiation to the back, or it may be diffuse, with the appearance of an emergent acute abdomen. Other typical symptoms are eruptive xanthomas (in about 50% of patients), lipemia retinalis and hepatosplenomegaly.

"Complications:" Patients with LPLD are at high risk of acute pancreatitis, which can be life-threatening, and can lead to chronic pancreatic insufficiency and diabetes.

The incidence of this disease is not precisely known but it is considered to be rare (< 1/10 population). It has been reported in 15 families to date mostly from Canada, Finland and France.

This disease usually presents between the ages of 5 to 10 years old. The usual picture is with weakness involving the upper legs and affects activities such as running and climbing stairs. As the condition progresses, patients tend to experience weakness in their lower legs and arms. Some remain able to walk in advanced age, while others require assistance in adulthood.

X-linked myopathy with excessive autophagy (XMEA) is a rare childhood onset disease characterized by slow progressive vacuolation and atrophy of skeletal muscle. There is no known cardiac or intellectual involvement.

The term congenital refers to a condition present from birth (not acquired) and amaurosis refers to a loss of vision "not" associated with a lesion. However, beyond these general descriptions, the presentation of LCA can vary, because it is associated with multiple genes.

LCA is typically characterized by nystagmus, sluggish or absent pupillary responses, and severe vision loss or blindness.

Lipoprotein lipase deficiency (also known as "familial chylomicronemia syndrome", "chylomicronemia", "chylomicronemia syndrome" and "hyperlipoproteinemia type Ia") is a rare autosomal recessive lipid disorder caused by a mutation in the gene which codes lipoprotein lipase. As a result, afflicted individuals lack the ability to produce lipoprotein lipase enzymes necessary for effective breakdown of triglycerides.

Leber's congenital amaurosis (LCA) is a rare inherited eye disease that appears at birth or in the first few months of life.

One form of LCA was successfully treated with gene therapy in 2008.

It affects about 1 in 40,000 newborns. LCA was first described by Theodor Leber in the 19th century. It should not be confused with Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy, which is a different disease also described by Theodor Leber.

North American Indian childhood cirrhosis (NAIC) is a disease in humans that can affect Ojibway-Cree children in northwestern Quebec, Canada. The disease is due to an autosomal recessive abnormality of the "CIRH1A" gene, which codes for cirhin.

NAIC is a ribosomopathy. An R565W mutation of "CIRH1A" leads to partial impairment of cirhin interaction with NOL11.

Initial transient neonatal jaundice advances over time to biliary cirrhosis with severe liver fibrosis. Eventually, liver failure occurs, and requires liver transplantation.

Symptoms typically present in the 3rd or 4th decade of life, but have been seen as early as the age of 14. It presents with torsion dystonia, particularly when presenting at a younger age, which then progresses to parkinsonism with or without ongoing dystonia. Often the two symptoms coexist.The parkinsonian features of x-linked dystonia parkinsonism include festinating gait, bradykinesia, blepharospasm, and postural instability. It often lacks a resting tremor, helping to differentiate it from Parkinson's disease.

The Sertoli cell-only syndrome patients normally have normal secondary male features and have normal- or small-sized testes.

X-linked dystonia parkinsonism (XDP), also known as Lubag Syndrome or X-linked Dystonia of Panay, is a rare x-linked progressive movement disorder with high penetrance found almost exclusively in males from the Panay, Philippines. It is characterized by dystonic movements first typically occurring in the 3rd and 4th decade of life. The dystonic movements often either coexist or develop into parkinsonism within 10 years of disease onset.

Symptoms generally begin around puberty but can occur earlier. These individuals have recurrent swelling in the extremities, genitals, face, lips, larynx or GI tract. Some patients describe a sensation of fullness but not pain or itching in the affected area except for those with abdominal swellings who often experience acute abdominal pain. Others experience an intense amount of pain, described as radiating from the bone outward along with intense itching just beneath the skin and intense heat, regardless of the area targeted.

Instances of swelling around the throat or larynx can cause difficulties in breathing should the swelling obstruct airways. This has been known to cause a large number of fatalities in those afflicted with the disorder. Episodes that attack the gastrointestinal tract can cause a number of complications including dehydration from being unable to keep anything down (which, depending on length of the episode, can prove fatal). Symptoms from gI tract swelling including violent vomiting, intense pain from the midsection, dehydration, and intense exhaustion.

Some suffered of HAE suffer from 'wandering' attacks. These attacks will center around an extremity. For example: Should the sufferer's hand swell up, it will go through the normal swelling cycle before 'transferring' to either the connection limb (In this case wrist to forearm) or move to the opposite hand. Sufferers with this symptom may find their episodes last longer, and may find their triggers more difficult to track.

A rare disease is any disease that affects a small percentage of the population. In some parts of the world, an orphan disease is a rare disease whose rarity means there's a lack of a market large enough to gain support and resources for discovering treatments for it, except by the government granting economically advantageous conditions to creating and selling such treatments. Orphan drugs are ones so created or sold.

Most rare diseases are genetic, and thus are present throughout the person's entire life, even if symptoms do not immediately appear. Many rare diseases appear early in life, and about 30 percent of children with rare diseases will die before reaching their fifth birthday. With a single diagnosed patient only, ribose-5-phosphate isomerase deficiency is considered the rarest genetic disease.

No single cutoff number has been agreed upon for which a disease is considered rare. A disease may be considered rare in one part of the world, or in a particular group of people, but still be common in another.

Global Genes have estimated that more than 300 million people worldwide are living with one of the 7,000 diseases they define as "rare" in the United States.

Sertoli cell-only syndrome (a.k.a. Del Castillo syndrome and germ cell aplasia ) is a disorder characterized by male sterility without sexual abnormality. It describes a condition of the testes in which only Sertoli cells line the seminiferous tubules.

Sucrose intolerance, also called sucrase-isomaltase deficiency, congenital sucrase-isomaltase deficiency (CSID), or genetic sucrase-isomaltase deficiency (GSID), is the condition in which sucrase-isomaltase, an enzyme needed for proper metabolism of sucrose (sugar) and starch (i.e., grains and rice), is not produced or the enzyme produced is either partially functional or non-functional in the small intestine. All GSID patients lack fully functional sucrase, while the isomaltase activity can vary from minimal functionality to almost normal activity. The presence of residual isomaltase activity may explain why some GSID patients are better able to tolerate starch in their diet than others with GSID.

The highest prevalence rates are seen in the Inuit populations of Greenland (5–10%), Alaska (3–7%) and Canada (about 3%). European descent prevalence ranges from 0.2% to 0.05%. There is a lower prevalence reported in African Americans and Hispanics compared to Caucasians.

Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is disorder that results in recurrent attacks of severe swelling. This most commonly affects the arms, legs, face, intestinal tract, and airway. Itchiness does not typically occur. If the intestinal tract is affected abdominal pain and vomiting may occur. Swelling of the airway can result in its obstruction. Attacks, without treatment, typically occur every couple of weeks and last for a few days.

There are three main types of HAE. Type I and II are caused by a mutation in the SERPING1 gene that makes the C1 inhibitor protein while type III is often due to a mutation of the factor XII gene. This results in increased amounts of bradykinin which promotes swelling. The condition may be inherited from a person's parents in an autosomal dominant manner or occur as a new mutation. Triggers of an attack may include minor trauma or stress, but often occurs without any obvious preceding event. Diagnosis of type I and II is based upon measuring C4 and C1-inhibitor levels.

Management involves efforts to prevent attacks and the treatment of attacks if they occur. During an attack supportive care such as intravenous fluids and airway support may be required. The medication C1 esterase inhibitor can be used for both prevention and treatment. Ecallantide and icatibant can be used to treat acute attacks.

This disorder affects approximately one in 50,000 people. The condition is typically first noticed in childhood. Type I and II affected females and males equally. Type III affects females more often than males. When the airway is involved, without treatment, death occurs in about 25%. With treatment outcomes are generally good. The condition was first described in 1888 by William Osler.

Individuals with QPD are at risk for experiencing a number of bleeding symptoms, including joint bleeds, hematuria, and large bruising. In 2010, the genetic cause of QPD has been determined as a mutation involving an extra copy of the uPA (urokinase plasminogen activator) gene http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org/content/115/6/1264.long. The mutation causes overproduction of an enzyme that accelerates blood clot breakdown.

The discovery was found by a team of doctors at McMaster University, led by Dr. Catherine Hayward, a hematologist.

Type 1 tyrosinemia typically presents in infancy as failure to thrive and hepatomegaly. The primary effects are progressive liver and kidney dysfunction. The liver disease causes cirrhosis, conjugated hyperbilirubinemia, elevated AFP, hypoglycemia and coagulation abnormalities. This can lead to jaundice, ascites and hemorrhage. There is also an increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma.

The kidney dysfunction presents as Fanconi syndrome: Renal tubular acidosis, hypophosphatemia and aminoaciduria. Cardiomyopathy, neurologic and dermatologic manifestations are also possible. The urine has an odor of cabbage or rancid butter.