PAFAH1B1-related lissencephaly / subcortical band heterotopia (SBH) comprises a spectrum of severity. Affected newborns typically have mild-to-moderate hypotonia, feeding difficulties, and poor head control. During the first years, neurologic examination typically demonstrates poor visual tracking and response to sounds, axial hypotonia, and mild distal spasticity that can transition over time to more severe spasticity. Seizures occur in more than 90% of individuals with lissencephaly and often include infantile spasms. Seizures are often drug resistant, but even with good seizure control, the best developmental level achieved (excluding the few individuals with partial lissencephaly) is the equivalent of about age three to five months. In individuals with PAFAH1B1-related lissencephaly/SBH, developmental delay ranges from mild to severe. Other findings in PAFAH1B1-related lissencephaly/SBH include feeding issues and aspiration (which may result in need for gastrostomy tube placement), progressive microcephaly, and occasional developmental regression.

ATP6V0A2-related cutis laxa is characterized by generalized cutis laxa, findings associated with generalized connective tissue disorder, developmental delays, and a variety of neurologic findings including abnormality on brain MRI. At birth, hypotonia, overfolded skin, and distinctive facial features are present and enlarged fontanelles are often observed. During childhood, the characteristic facial features and thick or coarse hair may become quite pronounced. The skin findings decrease with age, although easy bruising and Ehlers-Danlos-like scars have been described in some. In most (not all) affected individuals, cortical and cerebellar malformations are observed on brain MRI. Nearly all affected individuals have developmental delays, seizures, and neurologic regression.

While the majority of individuals with HRAS-related Costello syndrome (Costello syndrome) share characteristic findings affecting multiple organ systems, the phenotypic spectrum is wide, ranging from a mild or attenuated phenotype to a severe phenotype with early-lethal complications. Costello syndrome is typically characterized by failure to thrive in infancy as a result of severe postnatal feeding difficulties; short stature; developmental delay or intellectual disability; coarse facial features (full lips, large mouth, full nasal tip); curly or sparse, fine hair; loose, soft skin with deep palmar and plantar creases; papillomata of the face and perianal region; diffuse hypotonia and joint laxity with ulnar deviation of the wrists and fingers; tight Achilles tendons; and cardiac involvement including cardiac hypertrophy (usually hypertrophic cardiomyopathy), congenital heart defects (usually valvular pulmonic stenosis), and arrhythmia (usually supraventricular tachycardia, especially abnormal atrial rhythm / multifocal atrial tachycardia or ectopic atrial tachycardia). Relative or absolute macrocephaly is typical, and postnatal cerebellar overgrowth can result in the development of a Chiari I malformation with associated anomalies including hydrocephalus or syringomyelia. Individuals with Costello syndrome have an approximately 15% lifetime risk for malignant tumors including rhabdomyosarcoma and neuroblastoma in young children and transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder in adolescents and young adults.

Bohring-Opitz syndrome (BOS) is characterized by distinctive facial features and posture, growth failure, variable but usually severe intellectual disability, and variable anomalies. The facial features may include microcephaly or trigonocephaly / prominent (but not fused) metopic ridge, hypotonic facies with full cheeks, synophrys, glabellar and eyelid nevus flammeus (simplex), prominent globes, widely set eyes, palate anomalies, and micrognathia. The BOS posture, which is most striking in early childhood and often becomes less apparent with age, is characterized by flexion at the elbows with ulnar deviation and flexion of the wrists and metacarpophalangeal joints. Feeding difficulties in early childhood, including cyclic vomiting, have a significant impact on overall health; feeding tends to improve with age. Seizures are common and typically responsive to standard epileptic medications. Minor cardiac anomalies and transient bradycardia and apnea may be present. Affected individuals may experience recurrent infections, which also tend to improve with age. Isolated case reports suggest that individuals with BOS are at greater risk for Wilms tumor than the general population, but large-scale epidemiologic studies have not been conducted.

Cardiofaciocutaneous (CFC) syndrome is characterized by cardiac abnormalities (pulmonic stenosis and other valve dysplasias, septal defects, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, rhythm disturbances), distinctive craniofacial appearance, and cutaneous abnormalities (including xerosis, hyperkeratosis, ichthyosis, keratosis pilaris, ulerythema ophryogenes, eczema, pigmented moles, hemangiomas, and palmoplantar hyperkeratosis). The hair is typically sparse, curly, fine or thick, and woolly or brittle; eyelashes and eyebrows may be absent or sparse. Nails may be dystrophic or fast growing. Affected individuals typically have some form of neurologic and/or cognitive delay (ranging from mild to severe). Most individuals have severe feeding issues, which can contribute to poor growth, and many require nasogastric or gastrostomy tube feeding. Many affected individuals have eye findings, including strabismus, nystagmus, refractive errors, and optic nerve hypoplasia. Seizures may be present and can be refractory to therapy.

Oblique facial clefts are a rare form of orofacial clefting, comprising about 0.25% of all facial clefts. Two major types have been described classically: nasoocular and oroocular, the latter of which can be subdivided into oromedial-canthal and orolateral-canthal (summary by Dasouki et al., 1988).

The classic features of TARP syndrome are talipes equinovarus, atrial septal defect, Robin sequence (micrognathia, cleft palate, and glossoptosis), and persistent left superior vena cava. Not all patients have all classic features. Some patients have the additional features of central nervous system dysfunction, renal abnormalities, variable cardiac anomalies including hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, and variable distal limb defects including syndactyly. Most patients die in late prenatal or early postnatal stages (summary by Kaeppler et al., 2018).

Blepharophimosis-intellectual disability syndrome, Verloes type is a rare, genetic multiple congenital anomalies/dysmorphic syndrome characterized by congenital microcephaly, severe epilepsy with hypsarrhythmia, adducted thumbs, abnormal genitalia, and normal thyroid function. Hypotonia, moderate to severe psychomotor delay, and characteristic facial dysmorphism (including round face with prominent cheeks, blepharophimosis, large, bulbous nose with wide alae nasi, posteriorly rotated ears with dysplastic conchae, narrow mouth, cleft palate, and mild micrognathia) are additional characteristic features.

Noonan syndrome (NS) is characterized by characteristic facies, short stature, congenital heart defect, and developmental delay of variable degree. Other findings can include broad or webbed neck, unusual chest shape with superior pectus carinatum and inferior pectus excavatum, cryptorchidism, varied coagulation defects, lymphatic dysplasias, and ocular abnormalities. Although birth length is usually normal, final adult height approaches the lower limit of normal. Congenital heart disease occurs in 50%-80% of individuals. Pulmonary valve stenosis, often with dysplasia, is the most common heart defect and is found in 20%-50% of individuals. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, found in 20%-30% of individuals, may be present at birth or develop in infancy or childhood. Other structural defects include atrial and ventricular septal defects, branch pulmonary artery stenosis, and tetralogy of Fallot. Up to one fourth of affected individuals have mild intellectual disability, and language impairments in general are more common in NS than in the general population.

Pierpont syndrome (PRPTS) is a multiple congenital anomaly syndrome associated with learning disability. Key features include distinctive facial characteristics, especially when smiling, plantar fat pads, and other limb anomalies (summary by Burkitt Wright et al., 2011).

SLC25A24 Fontaine progeroid syndrome is a multisystem connective tissue disorder characterized by poor growth, abnormal skeletal features, and distinctive craniofacial features with sagging, thin skin, and decreased subcutaneous fat suggesting an aged appearance that is most pronounced in infancy and improves with time. Characteristic radiographic features include turribrachycephaly with widely open anterior fontanelle, craniosynostosis, and anomalies of the terminal phalanges. Cardiovascular, genitourinary, ocular, and gastrointestinal abnormalities may also occur. To date, 13 individuals with a molecularly confirmed diagnosis of SLC25A24 Fontaine progeroid syndrome have been described.

Noonan syndrome (NS) is characterized by characteristic facies, short stature, congenital heart defect, and developmental delay of variable degree. Other findings can include broad or webbed neck, unusual chest shape with superior pectus carinatum and inferior pectus excavatum, cryptorchidism, varied coagulation defects, lymphatic dysplasias, and ocular abnormalities. Although birth length is usually normal, final adult height approaches the lower limit of normal. Congenital heart disease occurs in 50%-80% of individuals. Pulmonary valve stenosis, often with dysplasia, is the most common heart defect and is found in 20%-50% of individuals. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, found in 20%-30% of individuals, may be present at birth or develop in infancy or childhood. Other structural defects include atrial and ventricular septal defects, branch pulmonary artery stenosis, and tetralogy of Fallot. Up to one fourth of affected individuals have mild intellectual disability, and language impairments in general are more common in NS than in the general population.

Multiple congenital anomalies-hypotonia-seizures syndrome-2 (MCAHS2) is an X-linked recessive neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by dysmorphic features, neonatal hypotonia, early-onset myoclonic seizures, and variable congenital anomalies involving the central nervous, cardiac, and urinary systems. Some affected individuals die in infancy (summary by Johnston et al., 2012). The phenotype shows clinical variability with regard to severity and extraneurologic features. However, most patients present in infancy with early-onset epileptic encephalopathy associated with developmental arrest and subsequent severe neurologic disability; these features are consistent with a form of developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE) (summary by Belet et al., 2014, Kato et al., 2014). The disorder is caused by a defect in glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) biosynthesis. For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of MCAHS, see MCAHS1 (614080). For a discussion of nomenclature and genetic heterogeneity of DEE, see 308350. For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of GPI biosynthesis defects, see GPIBD1 (610293).

Smith-Kingsmore syndrome (SKS) is a rare autosomal dominant syndromic intellectual disability syndrome characterized by macrocephaly, seizures, umbilical hernia, and facial dysmorphic features including frontal bossing, midface hypoplasia, small chin, hypertelorism with downslanting palpebral fissures, depressed nasal bridge, smooth philtrum, and thin upper lip (Smith et al., 2013; Baynam et al., 2015).

Au-Kline syndrome is characterized by developmental delay and hypotonia with moderate-to-severe intellectual disability, and typical facial features that include long palpebral fissures, ptosis, shallow orbits, large and deeply grooved tongue, broad nose with a wide nasal bridge, and downturned mouth. Congenital heart disease, hydronephrosis, palate abnormalities, and oligodontia are reported in the majority of affected individuals. Variable autonomic dysfunction (gastrointestinal dysmotility, high pain threshold, heat intolerance, recurrent fevers, abnormal sweating) is found in more than one third of affected individuals. Additional complications can include craniosynostosis, feeding difficulty, vision issues, hearing loss, osteopenia, and other skeletal anomalies. Epilepsy and brain malformations are rare.

Shashi-Pena syndrome is characterized by distinctive facial features accompanied by variable further clinical findings. Facial features may include glabellar nevus simplex, widely spaced and prominent/proptotic eyes with epicanthal folds and ptosis, arched eyebrows, broad nasal tip, and low-set/posteriorly rotated ears. Dental anomalies may include early eruption and loss of teeth as well as small and fragile teeth. Most affected individuals have infantile hypotonia that frequently resolves over time. Macrosomia and macrocephaly are also common. Affected individuals can have variable developmental delay / intellectual disability, ranging from low-average intellectual abilities to severe intellectual disability. They often demonstrate difficulties with attention and aggressive behavior. Affected individuals may have feeding difficulties that require supportive nasogastric or gastrostomy tube feeding, skin findings (capillary malformations, deep palmar creases, hypertrichosis), skeletal anomalies (scoliosis/kyphosis, hypermobility, frequent fractures), congenital heart defects, seizures, hypoglycemia (most typically in infancy, may be due to hyperinsulinism), vision abnormalities (strabismus, amblyopia), conductive hearing loss, sleep apnea, temperature dysregulation, and global volume loss on brain MRI.

Noonan syndrome-like disorder with loose anagen hair is characterized by facial features similar to those observed in Noonan syndrome (163950), including hypertelorism, ptosis, downslanting palpebral fissures, low-set posteriorly angulated ears, and overfolded pinnae. In addition, patients display short stature, frequently with growth hormone (GH; see 139250) deficiency; cognitive deficits; relative macrocephaly; small posterior fossa resulting in Chiari I malformation; hypernasal voice; cardiac defects, especially dysplasia of the mitral valve and septal defects; and ectodermal abnormalities, in which the most characteristic feature is the hair anomaly, including easily pluckable, sparse, thin, slow-growing hair (summary by Bertola et al., 2017). Reviews Komatsuzaki et al. (2010) reviewed the clinical manifestations of patients with Noonan syndrome, Costello syndrome (218040), and cardiofaciocutaneous syndrome (CFC; see 115150) compared to patients with mutations in the SHOC2 gene. They noted that although there is phenotypic overlap among the disorders, loose anagen/easily pluckable hair had not been reported in mutation-positive patients with Noonan, CFC, or Costello syndrome, and appeared to be a distinctive feature of SHOC2 mutation-positive patients. Genetic Heterogeneity of Noonan Syndrome-Like Disorder with Loose Anagen Hair NSLH2 (617506) is caused by mutation in the PPP1CB gene (600590) on chromosome 2p23.

Al Kaissi syndrome (ALKAS) is an autosomal recessive developmental disorder characterized by growth retardation, spine malformation, particularly of the cervical spine, dysmorphic facial features, and delayed psychomotor development with moderate to severe intellectual disability (summary by Windpassinger et al., 2017).

ASXL3-related disorder is characterized by developmental delay or intellectual disability, typically in the moderate to severe range, with speech and language delay and/or absent speech. Affected individuals may also display autistic features. There may be issues with feeding. While dysmorphic facial features have been described, they are typically nonspecific. Affected individuals may also have hypotonia that can transition to spasticity resulting in unusual posture with flexion contractions of the elbows, wrists, and fingers. Other findings may include poor postnatal growth, strabismus, seizures, sleep disturbance, and dental anomalies.

Mandibuloacral dysplasia progeroid syndrome (MDPS) is an autosomal recessive severe laminopathy-like disorder characterized by growth retardation, bone resorption, arterial calcification, renal glomerulosclerosis, and hypertension (Elouej et al., 2020).

X-linked multiple congenital anomalies-neurodevelopmental syndrome (MCAND) is an X-linked recessive congenital multisystemic disorder characterized by poor growth, global developmental delay with impaired intellectual development, and variable abnormalities of the cardiac, skeletal, and genitourinary systems. Most affected individuals also have hypotonia and dysmorphic craniofacial features. Brain imaging typically shows enlarged ventricles and thin corpus callosum; some have microcephaly, whereas others have hydrocephalus. The severity of the disorder is highly variable, ranging from death in early infancy to survival into the second or third decade. Pathogenetically, the disorder results from disrupted gene expression and signaling during embryogenesis, thus affecting multiple systems (summary by Tripolszki et al., 2021 and Beck et al., 2021). Beck et al. (2021) referred to the disorder as LINKED syndrome (LINKage-specific deubiquitylation deficiency-induced Embryonic Defects).

Autosomal recessive cutis laxa type IIE (ARCL2E) is characterized by connective tissue features, including generalized cutis laxa and inguinal hernia, craniofacial dysmorphology, variable mild heart defects, and prominent skeletal features, including craniosynostosis, short stature, brachydactyly, clinodactyly, and syndactyly (Pottie et al., 2021). For a general phenotypic description and discussion of genetic heterogeneity of autosomal recessive cutis laxa, see ARCL1A (219100).

Noonan syndrome-14 (NS14) is a recessive developmental disorder within the RASopathy clinical spectrum. Patients exhibit developmental delay, impaired intellectual development, and short stature, as well as distinctive dysmorphic features including bitemporal narrowing, hypertelorism, low-set posteriorly rotated ears, prominent nasal bridge, low posterior hairline with a short webbed neck, and pectus excavatum (Motta et al., 2021). For a general phenotypic description and discussion of genetic heterogeneity of Noonan syndrome, see NS1 (163950).

Neurodevelopmental disorder with hypotonia, dysmorphic facies, and skin abnormalities (NEDHFS) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by severe global developmental delay with impaired intellectual development and poor or absent speech. Affected individuals have dysmorphic facies, including large abnormally shaped ears and strabismus, hypotonia, and dry skin with keratosis pilaris. Some patients develop seizures. Metabolic studies are unremarkable (Morava et al., 2021).

Neuroocular syndrome-1 (NOC1) encompasses a broad spectrum of overlapping anomalies, with developmental delay or impaired intellectual development as a consistent finding. Eye abnormalities show marked variability in the type and severity of defects, and include anophthalmia, microphthalmia, and coloboma. Other common systemic features include congenital heart and kidney defects, hypotonia, failure to thrive, and microcephaly (summary by Chowdhury et al., 2021). Genetic Heterogeneity of Neuroocular Syndrome See also NOC2 (168885), caused by mutation in the DAGLA gene (614015) on chromosome 11q12.

X-linked syndromic intellectual developmental disorder-37 (MRXS37) is a developmental disorder showing phenotypic variability and variable severity. Male mutation carriers tend to be more severely affected than female mutation carriers, some of whom may even be asymptomatic. In general, the disorder is characterized by global developmental delay with delayed walking, speech delay, impaired intellectual development that ranges from borderline low to moderate, and behavioral abnormalities, such as autism and sleeping difficulties. Many patients are able to attend mainstream schools with assistance and work under supervision. Additional more variable features include sensorineural hearing loss, ocular anomalies, feeding difficulties, dysmorphic facial features, inguinal and umbilical hernia, genitourinary defects, congenital heart defects, musculoskeletal anomalies, and endocrine dysfunction, such as hypogonadism or hyperparathyroidism (Shepherdson et al., 2024).

ReNU syndrome (RENU), also known as neurodevelopmental disorder with hypotonia, brain anomalies, distinctive facies, and absent language (NEDHAFA), is characterized by hypotonia, global developmental delay, severely impaired intellectual development with poor or absent speech, delayed walking or inability to walk, feeding difficulties with poor overall growth, seizures (in most), dysmorphic facial features, and brain anomalies, including ventriculomegaly, thin corpus callosum, and progressive white matter loss (Greene et al., 2024; Schot et al., 2024; Chen et al., 2024).