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Alzahrani-Kuwahara syndrome(ALKUS)

MedGen UID:
1782127
Concept ID:
C5543274
Disease or Syndrome
Synonym: NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDER WITH DYSMORPHIC FACIES AND CATARACTS
 
Gene (location): SMG8 (17q22)
 
Monarch Initiative: MONDO:0859136
OMIM®: 619268

Definition

Alzahrani-Kuwahara syndrome (ALKUS) is an autosomal recessive neurodevelopmental syndrome characterized by global developmental delay with severely impaired intellectual function and poor or absent speech. Patients have poor overall growth and dysmorphic facial features. More variable findings include early-onset cataracts, hypotonia, congenital heart defects, lower limb spasticity, and hypospadias (summary by Alzahrani et al., 2020). [from OMIM]

Clinical features

From HPO
Hypospadias
MedGen UID:
163083
Concept ID:
C0848558
Congenital Abnormality
Abnormal position of urethral meatus on the ventral penile shaft (underside) characterized by displacement of the urethral meatus from the tip of the glans penis to the ventral surface of the penis, scrotum, or perineum.
Patent foramen ovale
MedGen UID:
8891
Concept ID:
C0016522
Congenital Abnormality
Failure of the foramen ovale to seal postnatally, leaving a potential conduit between the left and right cardiac atria.
Atrial septal defect
MedGen UID:
6753
Concept ID:
C0018817
Congenital Abnormality
Atrial septal defect (ASD) is a congenital abnormality of the interatrial septum that enables blood flow between the left and right atria via the interatrial septum.
Ventricular septal defect
MedGen UID:
42366
Concept ID:
C0018818
Congenital Abnormality
A hole between the two bottom chambers (ventricles) of the heart. The defect is centered around the most superior aspect of the ventricular septum.
Persistent left superior vena cava
MedGen UID:
75586
Concept ID:
C0265931
Congenital Abnormality
A rare congenital vascular anomaly that results when the left superior cardinal vein caudal to the innominate vein fails to regress.
Pulmonary artery sling
MedGen UID:
341071
Concept ID:
C1856123
Finding
An anomalous origin of the left pulmonary artery, such that it arises from the posterior aspect of the right pulmonary artery and passes between the trachea and esophagus to reach the left hilum.
Coronary sinus enlargement
MedGen UID:
1613847
Concept ID:
C4531220
Anatomical Abnormality
Abnormal increase in size of the coronary sinus.
Short stature
MedGen UID:
87607
Concept ID:
C0349588
Finding
A height below that which is expected according to age and gender norms. Although there is no universally accepted definition of short stature, many refer to "short stature" as height more than 2 standard deviations below the mean for age and gender (or below the 3rd percentile for age and gender dependent norms).
Macrotia
MedGen UID:
488785
Concept ID:
C0152421
Congenital Abnormality
Median longitudinal ear length greater than two standard deviations above the mean and median ear width greater than two standard deviations above the mean (objective); or, apparent increase in length and width of the pinna (subjective).
Low-set ears
MedGen UID:
65980
Concept ID:
C0239234
Congenital Abnormality
Upper insertion of the ear to the scalp below an imaginary horizontal line drawn between the inner canthi of the eye and extending posteriorly to the ear.
Posteriorly rotated ears
MedGen UID:
96566
Concept ID:
C0431478
Congenital Abnormality
A type of abnormal location of the ears in which the position of the ears is characterized by posterior rotation (the superior part of the ears is rotated towards the back of the head, and the inferior part of the ears towards the front).
Hearing impairment
MedGen UID:
235586
Concept ID:
C1384666
Disease or Syndrome
A decreased magnitude of the sensory perception of sound.
Self-mutilation
MedGen UID:
19925
Concept ID:
C0036601
Injury or Poisoning
Deliberate harm to one's body resulting in tissue damage, without a conscious intent to die.
Tip-toe gait
MedGen UID:
98104
Concept ID:
C0427144
Finding
An abnormal gait pattern characterized by the failure of the heel to contact the floor at the onset of stance during gait.
Global developmental delay
MedGen UID:
107838
Concept ID:
C0557874
Finding
A delay in the achievement of motor or mental milestones in the domains of development of a child, including motor skills, speech and language, cognitive skills, and social and emotional skills. This term should only be used to describe children younger than five years of age.
Abnormal cerebral white matter morphology
MedGen UID:
181756
Concept ID:
C0948163
Pathologic Function
An abnormality of the cerebral white matter.
Cavum septum pellucidum
MedGen UID:
327087
Concept ID:
C1840380
Finding
If the two laminae of the septum pellucidum are not fused then a fluid-filled space or cavum is present. The cavum septum pellucidum is present at birth but usually obliterates by the age of 3 to 6 months. It is up to 1cm in width and the walls are parallel. It is an enclosed space and is not part of the ventricular system or connected with the subarachnoid space.
Brain atrophy
MedGen UID:
1643639
Concept ID:
C4551584
Disease or Syndrome
Partial or complete wasting (loss) of brain tissue that was once present.
Micrognathia
MedGen UID:
44428
Concept ID:
C0025990
Congenital Abnormality
Developmental hypoplasia of the mandible.
Frontal bossing
MedGen UID:
67453
Concept ID:
C0221354
Congenital Abnormality
Bilateral bulging of the lateral frontal bone prominences with relative sparing of the midline.
Microcephaly
MedGen UID:
1644158
Concept ID:
C4551563
Finding
Head circumference below 2 standard deviations below the mean for age and gender.
Eczematoid dermatitis
MedGen UID:
3968
Concept ID:
C0013595
Disease or Syndrome
Eczema is a form of dermatitis that is characterized by scaly, pruritic, erythematous lesions located on flexural surfaces.
Partial congenital absence of teeth
MedGen UID:
43794
Concept ID:
C0020608
Congenital Abnormality
Tooth agenesis in some form is a common human anomaly that affects approximately 20% of the population. Although tooth agenesis is associated with numerous syndromes, several case reports describe nonsyndromic forms that are either sporadic or familial in nature, as reviewed by Gorlin et al. (1990). The incidence of familial tooth agenesis varies with each class of teeth. Most commonly affected are third molars (wisdom teeth), followed by either upper lateral incisors or lower second premolars; agenesis involving first and second molars is very rare. Also see 114600 and 302400. Selective tooth agenesis without associated systemic disorders has sometimes been divided into 2 types: oligodontia, defined as agenesis of 6 or more permanent teeth, and hypodontia, defined as agenesis of less than 6 teeth. The number in both cases does not include absence of third molars (wisdom teeth). Faulty use of the terms, however, have confounded their use. The term 'partial anodontia' is obsolete (Salinas, 1978). Genetic Heterogeneity of Selective Tooth Agenesis Other forms of selective tooth agenesis include STHAG2 (602639), mapped to chromosome 16q12; STHAG3 (604625), caused by mutation in the PAX9 gene (167416) on chromosome 14q12; STHAG4 (150400), caused by mutation in the WNT10A gene (606268) on chromosome 2q35; STHAG5 (610926), mapped to chromosome 10q11; STHAG7 (616724), caused by mutation in the LRP6 gene (603507) on chromosome 12p13; STHAG8 (617073), caused by mutation in the WNT10B gene (601906) on chromosome 12q13; STHAG9 (617275), caused by mutation in the GREM2 gene (608832) on chromosome 1q43; STHAG10 (620173), caused by mutation in the TSPEAR gene (612920) on chromosome 21q22; and STHAGX1 (313500), caused by mutation in the EDA gene (300451) on chromosome Xq13. A type of selective tooth agenesis that was formerly designated STHAG6 has been incorporated into the dental anomalies and short stature syndrome (DASS; 601216). Of 34 unrelated patients with nonsyndromic tooth agenesis, van den Boogaard et al. (2012) found that 56% (19 patients) had mutations in the WNT10A gene (STHAG4), whereas only 3% and 9% had mutations in the MSX1 (STHAG1) and PAX9 (STHAG3) genes, respectively. The authors concluded that WNT10A is a major gene in the etiology of isolated hypodontia. Genotype-Phenotype Correlations Yu et al. (2016) observed that the most frequently missing permanent teeth in WNT10B-associated oligodontia were the lateral incisors (83.3%), whereas premolars were missing only 51.4% of the time, which they noted was a pattern 'clearly different' from the oligodontia patterns resulting from WNT10A mutations. They also stated that the selective pattern in WNT10B mutants was different from that associated with mutations in other genes, such as MSX1, in which second premolars are missing, and PAX9, in which there is agenesis of molars.
Bulbous nose
MedGen UID:
66013
Concept ID:
C0240543
Finding
Increased volume and globular shape of the anteroinferior aspect of the nose.
Prominent nose
MedGen UID:
98423
Concept ID:
C0426415
Finding
Distance between subnasale and pronasale more than two standard deviations above the mean, or alternatively, an apparently increased anterior protrusion of the nasal tip.
Smooth philtrum
MedGen UID:
222980
Concept ID:
C1142533
Finding
Flat skin surface, with no ridge formation in the central region of the upper lip between the nasal base and upper vermilion border.
Thick vermilion border
MedGen UID:
332232
Concept ID:
C1836543
Finding
Increased width of the skin of vermilion border region of upper lip.
Long philtrum
MedGen UID:
351278
Concept ID:
C1865014
Finding
Distance between nasal base and midline upper lip vermilion border more than 2 SD above the mean. Alternatively, an apparently increased distance between nasal base and midline upper lip vermilion border.
Narrow philtrum
MedGen UID:
866764
Concept ID:
C4021115
Finding
Distance between the philtral ridges, measured just above the vermilion border, more than 2 standard deviations below the mean. Alternatively, an apparently decreased distance between the ridges of the philtrum.
Dry skin
MedGen UID:
56250
Concept ID:
C0151908
Sign or Symptom
Skin characterized by the lack of natural or normal moisture.
Hyperpigmentation of the skin
MedGen UID:
57992
Concept ID:
C0162834
Pathologic Function
A darkening of the skin related to an increase in melanin production and deposition.
Astigmatism
MedGen UID:
2473
Concept ID:
C0004106
Disease or Syndrome
Astigmatism (from the Greek 'a' meaning absence and 'stigma' meaning point) is a condition in which the parallel rays of light entering the eye through the refractive media are not focused on a single point. Both corneal and noncorneal factors contribute to refractive astigmatism. Corneal astigmatism is mainly the result of an aspheric anterior surface of the cornea, which can be measured readily by means of a keratometer; in a small fraction of cases (approximately 1 in 10) the effect is neutralized by the back surface. The curvature of the back surface of the cornea is not considered in most studies, because it is more difficult to measure; moreover, in the case of severe corneal astigmatism, there is evidence that both surfaces have the same configuration. Noncorneal factors are errors in the curvature of the 2 surfaces of the crystalline lens, irregularity in the refractive index of the lens, and an eccentric lens position. Since the cornea is the dominant component of the eye's refracting system, a highly astigmatic cornea is likely to result in a similarly astigmatic ocular refraction (summary by Clementi et al., 1998).
Strabismus
MedGen UID:
21337
Concept ID:
C0038379
Disease or Syndrome
A misalignment of the eyes so that the visual axes deviate from bifoveal fixation. The classification of strabismus may be based on a number of features including the relative position of the eyes, whether the deviation is latent or manifest, intermittent or constant, concomitant or otherwise and according to the age of onset and the relevance of any associated refractive error.
Cataract
MedGen UID:
39462
Concept ID:
C0086543
Disease or Syndrome
A cataract is an opacity or clouding that develops in the crystalline lens of the eye or in its capsule.
Optic disc pallor
MedGen UID:
108218
Concept ID:
C0554970
Finding
A pale yellow discoloration of the optic disc (the area of the optic nerve head in the retina). The optic disc normally has a pinkish hue with a central yellowish depression.

Recent clinical studies

Diagnosis

Fernandes AA, Grangeia A, Dias L, Guimarães J
Am J Med Genet A 2023 Aug;191(8):2204-2208. Epub 2023 May 16 doi: 10.1002/ajmg.a.63242. PMID: 37194129

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