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.

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)).

Although confirmation of a specific genetic marker is in a significant number of individuals, there are no tests to clearly determine if this is what a person has. As a 'syndrome' a diagnosis is typically given for children upon confirmation of the presence of several 'symptoms' listed below. Symptoms are Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) combined with some of the following:

- Often small for gestational age (SGA) at birth (birth weight less than 2.8 kg)

- Feeding problems: the baby is uninterested in feeding and takes only small amounts with difficulty

- Hypoglycemia

- Excessive sweating as a baby, especially at night, and a greyness or pallor of the skin. This may be a symptom of hypoglycemia

- Triangular shaped face with a small jaw and a pointed chin that tends to lessen slightly with age. The mouth tends to curve down

- A blue tinge to the whites of the eyes in younger children

- Head circumference may be of normal size and disproportionate to a small body size

- Wide and late-closing fontanelle

- Clinodactyly

- Body asymmetry: one side of the body grows more slowly than the other

- Continued poor growth with no "catch up" into the normal centile lines on growth chart

- Precocious puberty (occasionally)

- Low muscle tone

- Gastroesophageal reflux disease

- A striking lack of fat

- Late closing of the opening between the heart hemispheres

- Constipation (sometimes severe)

The average adult height for patients without growth hormone treatment is 4'11" for males and 4'7" for females.

There are two types of SGBS, each found on a different gene:

SGBS is also considered to be an overgrowth syndrome (OGS). OGS is characterized by a 2-3 standard deviation increase in weight, height, or head circumference above the average for sex and age. One of the most noted features of OGS is the increased risk of neoplasms in certain OGSs. SGBS in particular has been found to have a 10% tumor predisposition frequency with 94% of cases occurring in the abdominal region, most being malignant. It is common for tumors to be embryonal in type and appear before the age of 10.

There are five different types of tumors that patients with SGBS might develop, all intra-abdominal: Wilms tumor, Hepatoblastoma, Hepatocarcinoma, Gonadoblastoma, and Neuroblastoma.

The most common types of tumors developed in patients are the Wilms tumor and hepatoblastoma.

Post-maturity syndrome develops in about 20% of human pregnancies continuing past the expected dates. Features of post-maturity syndrome include oligohydramnios, meconium aspiration, macrosomia and fetal problems such as dry peeling skin, overgrown nails, abundant scalp hair, visible creases on palms and soles, minimal fat deposition and skin colour become green or yellow due to meconeum staining.

If there are no maternal or fetal complications, labour can be induced after assessing the favourability of the cervix and excluding cephalo-pelvic disproportions. Otherwise emergency lower segment Caesarean section (LSCS) should be made.

The syndrome was first described by Stewart H. Clifford in 1954.

Birk-Barel syndrome is a rare genetic disorder associated with the KCNK9 gene. Signs and symptoms include mental retardation, hypotonia, hyperactivity, and syndromic facies.

Due to imprinting, mutations in the maternal copy of KCNK9 cause the conditions, while mutations in the paternal copy do not. As such, this condition can only be inherited from the mother.

In most cases Ballantyne syndrome causes fetal or neonatal death and in contrast, maternal involvement is limited at the most to preeclampsia.

The problem of distinguishing (or not) between Ballantyne syndrome and preeclampsia is reflected in the diversity of terminology used and in the debate that surrounds the subject. It seems much more likely that an etiology of severe fetal hydrops may cause Ballantyne syndrome when the fetal status greatly worsens and that the syndrome is only a manifestation of the extreme severity of the fetus-placental pathology. Platelet count, aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, and haptoglobin are usually unaffected and may be used to distinguish mirror syndrome from HELLP syndrome.

Detection usually begins with a routine doctor visit when the fundal height is being measured or during an ultrasound examination. When large for gestational age fetuses (LGA) are identified, there are two common causes: maternal diabetes or incorrect dates. However, if these two causes can be ruled out, an ultrasound is performed to detect for overgrowth and other abnormalities. At this point, it becomes essential for a clinical geneticist to assist in the correct selection of tests and possible diagnosis.

First signs of SGBS may be observed as early as 16 weeks of gestation. Aids to diagnosing might include the presence of macrosomia, polyhydramnios, elevated maternal serum-α-fetoprotein, cystic hygroma, hydrops fetalis, increased nuchal translucency, craniofacial abnormalities, visceromegaly, renal abnormalities, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, polydactyly, and a single umbilical artery.

If there is a known mutation in the family, prenatal testing is available. Prenatal testing is also possible by looking for evidence of the mild SGBS phenotype in the mother and the positive SGBS phenotype in male family members. Family members who are positive of SGBS may undergo mutational analysis of genes GCP3, GCP4, and CXORF5. Genomic balance in Xp22 and Xq26 may also be analyzed through array comparative genomic hybridization.

Due to the high percentage of male deaths during the neonatal period, early detection of tumors is crucial. In order to detect the presence of tumors, screening in SGBS patients should include abdominal ultrasound, urinalysis, and biochemical markers that screen for embryonic tumors.

Once the infant is born, possibility of hypoglycemia must be assessed along with cardiac, genitalia, liver, and adrenal evaluations. Such tests include chest radiographs, electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, renal sonography, and abdominal sonography to test for possible abnormalities.

Chromosomal deletion syndromes result from deletion of parts of chromosomes. Depending on the location, size, and whom the deletion is inherited from, there are a few known different variations of chromosome deletions. Chromosomal deletion syndromes typically involve larger deletions that are visible using karyotyping techniques. Smaller deletions result in Microdeletion syndrome, which are detected using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)

Examples of chromosomal deletion syndromes include 5p-Deletion (cri du chat syndrome), 4p-Deletion (Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome), Prader–Willi syndrome, and Angelman syndrome.

The following text lists signs and symptoms of Angelman syndrome and their relative frequency in affected individuals.

A defect in the UGT1A1-gene, also linked to Crigler–Najjar syndrome and Gilbert's syndrome, is responsible for the congenital form of Lucey–Driscoll syndrome.

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.

The common cause is congenital, but it can also be caused by maternal steroids passed on through breast milk to the newborn. It is different from breast feeding-associated jaundice (breast-fed infants have higher bilirubin levels than formula-fed ones).

The CDC reviewed nine syndromes that have overlapping features with FAS; however, none of these syndromes include all three FAS facial features, and none are the result of prenatal alcohol exposure:

- Aarskog syndrome

- Williams syndrome

- Noonan syndrome

- Brachman-DeLange syndrome

- Toluene syndrome

- Fetal hydantoin syndrome

- Fetal valproate syndrome

- Maternal PKU fetal effects

Nondisjunction is the failure of homologous chromosomes or sister chromatids to separate properly during cell division. There are three forms of nondisjunction: failure of a pair of homologous chromosomes to separate in meiosis I, failure of sister chromatids to separate during meiosis II, and failure of sister chromatids to separate during mitosis. Nondisjunction results in daughter cells with abnormal chromosome numbers (aneuploidy).

Calvin Bridges and Thomas Hunt Morgan are credited with discovering nondisjunction in "Drosophila melanogaster" sex chromosomes in the spring of 1910, while working in the Zoological Laboratory of Columbia University.

Angelman syndrome (AS) is a genetic disorder that mainly affects the nervous system. Symptoms include a small head and a specific facial appearance, severe intellectual disability, developmental disability, speech problems, balance and movement problems, seizures, and sleep problems. Children are usually happy in nature and have a particular interest in water. The symptoms generally become noticeable by one year of age.

Angelman syndrome is typically due to a new mutation rather than one inherited from a person's parents. Angelman syndrome is due to a lack of function of part of chromosome 15 inherited from a person's mother. Most of the time, it is due to a deletion or mutation of the UBE3A gene on that chromosome. Occasionally, it is due to inheriting two copies of chromosome 15 from a person's father and none from their mother. As the father's versions are inactivated by a process known as genomic imprinting, no functional version of the gene remains. Diagnosis is based on symptoms and possibly genetic testing.

No cure is available. Treatment is generally supportive in nature. Anti-seizure medications are used in those with seizures. Physical therapy and bracing may help with walking. Those affected have a nearly normal life expectancy.

AS affects 1 in 12,000 to 20,000 people. Males and females are equally frequently affected. It is named after a British pediatrician, Harry Angelman, who first described the syndrome in 1965. An older term, "happy puppet syndrome", is generally considered pejorative. Prader–Willi syndrome is a separate condition, caused by a similar loss of the father's chromosome 15.

When structural impairments are not observable or do not exist, neurological impairments are assessed. In the context of FASD, neurological impairments are caused by prenatal alcohol exposure which causes general neurological damage to the central nervous system (CNS), the peripheral nervous system, or the autonomic nervous system. A determination of a neurological problem must be made by a trained physician, and must not be due to a postnatal insult, such as a high fever, concussion, traumatic brain injury, etc.

All four diagnostic systems show virtual agreement on their criteria for CNS damage at the neurological level, and evidence of a CNS neurological impairment due to prenatal alcohol exposure will result in a diagnosis of FAS or pFAS, and functional impairments are highly likely.

Neurological problems are expressed as either hard signs, or diagnosable disorders, such as epilepsy or other seizure disorders, or soft signs. Soft signs are broader, nonspecific neurological impairments, or symptoms, such as impaired fine motor skills, neurosensory hearing loss, poor gait, clumsiness, poor eye-hand coordination. Many soft signs have norm-referenced criteria, while others are determined through clinical judgment. "Clinical judgment" is only as good as the clinician, and soft signs should be assessed by either a pediatric neurologist, a pediatric neuropsychologist, or both.

The symptoms are very similar to graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). This is because the patients have some T cells with limited levels of recombination with the mutant RAG genes. These T cells are abnormal and have a very specific affinity for self antigens found in the thymus and in the periphery. Therefore, these T cells are auto-reactive and cause the GVHD phenotype.

A characteristic symptom is chronic inflammation of the skin, which appears as a red rash (early onset erythroderma). Other symptoms include eosinophilia, failure to thrive, swollen lymph nodes, swollen spleen, diarrhea, enlarged liver, low immunoglobulin levels (except immunoglobulin E, which is elevated), low T cell levels, and no B cells.

Omenn syndrome is an autosomal recessive severe combined immunodeficiency associated with hypomorphic missense mutations in immunologically relevant genes of T-cells (and B-cells) such as recombination activating genes (RAG1 and RAG2), IL-7 Receptor α gene (IL7Rα), DCLRE1C-Artemis, RMRP-CHH, DNA-Ligase IV, common gamma chain, WHN-FOXN1, ZAP-70 and complete DiGeorge anomaly (DiGeorge Syndrome; CHARGE).

Affected newborns generally have striking neurological defects and seizures. Severely impaired development is common, but disturbances in motor functions may not appear until later in life.

Infants with microcephaly are born with either a normal or reduced head size. Subsequently, the head fails to grow, while the face continues to develop at a normal rate, producing a child with a small head and a receding forehead, and a loose, often wrinkled scalp. As the child grows older, the smallness of the skull becomes more obvious, although the entire body also is often underweight and dwarfed. Development of motor functions and speech may be delayed. Hyperactivity and intellectual disability are common occurrences, although the degree of each varies. Convulsions may also occur. Motor ability varies, ranging from in some to spastic quadriplegia in others.

Karyotyping involves performing an amniocentesis in order to study the cells of an unborn fetus during metophase 1. Light microscopy can be used to visually determine if aneuploidy is an issue.

Microcephaly is a medical condition in which the brain does not develop properly resulting in a smaller than normal head. Microcephaly may be present at birth or it may develop in the first few years of life. Often people with the disorder have an intellectual disability, poor motor function, poor speech, abnormal facial features, seizures, and dwarfism.

The disorder may stem from a wide variety of conditions that cause abnormal growth of the brain, or from syndromes associated with chromosomal abnormalities. A homozygous mutation in one of the "microcephalin" genes causes primary microcephaly. It serves as an important neurological indication or warning sign, but no uniformity exists in its definition. It is usually defined as a head circumference (HC) more than two standard deviations below the mean for age and sex. Some academics advocate defining it as head circumference more than three standard deviations below the mean for the age and sex.

There is no specific treatment that returns the head size to normal. In general, life expectancy for individuals with microcephaly is reduced and the prognosis for normal brain function is poor. Occasionally, some will grow normally and develop normal intelligence.

The prognosis for children with NMDs varies depending on the specific disorder and the degree of brain abnormality and subsequent neurological signs and symptoms.

Ramos-Arroyo syndrome is marked by corneal anesthesia, absence of the peripapillary choriocapillaris and retinal pigment epithelium, bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, unusual facial appearance, persistent ductus arteriosus, Hirschsprung disease, and moderate intellectual disability. It appears to be a distinct autosomal dominant syndrome with variable expressivity.

As of 2008 this syndrome has only been reported in five individuals within three generations of the same family; two young children, their mother, their uncle and their maternal grandmother. This most recent generation to be diagnosed with Ramos-Arroyo syndrome supports the hypothesis that this disease is a distinct autosomal

dominant disorder. If this syndrome could be identified in other families it may help to discriminate the gene responsible.