Femoral-facial syndrome (FFS), also known as femoral hypoplasia-unusual facies syndrome (FHUFS), is a rare and sporadic multiple congenital anomaly syndrome comprising bilateral femoral hypoplasia and characteristic facial features, such as long philtrum, thin upper lip, micrognathia with or without cleft palate, upward-slanting palpebral fissures, and a short nose with broad tip. Other features, such as renal anomalies, are more variable (summary by Nowaczyk et al., 2010).

The FLNB disorders include a spectrum of phenotypes ranging from mild to severe. At the mild end are spondylocarpotarsal synostosis (SCT) syndrome and Larsen syndrome; at the severe end are the phenotypic continuum of atelosteogenesis types I (AOI) and III (AOIII) and Piepkorn osteochondrodysplasia (POCD). SCT syndrome is characterized by postnatal disproportionate short stature, scoliosis and lordosis, clubfeet, hearing loss, dental enamel hypoplasia, carpal and tarsal synostosis, and vertebral fusions. Larsen syndrome is characterized by congenital dislocations of the hip, knee, and elbow; clubfeet (equinovarus or equinovalgus foot deformities); scoliosis and cervical kyphosis, which can be associated with a cervical myelopathy; short, broad, spatulate distal phalanges; distinctive craniofacies (prominent forehead, depressed nasal bridge, malar flattening, and widely spaced eyes); vertebral anomalies; and supernumerary carpal and tarsal bone ossification centers. Individuals with SCT syndrome and Larsen syndrome can have midline cleft palate and hearing loss. AOI and AOIII are characterized by severe short-limbed dwarfism; dislocated hips, knees, and elbows; and clubfeet. AOI is lethal in the perinatal period. In individuals with AOIII, survival beyond the neonatal period is possible with intensive and invasive respiratory support. Piepkorn osteochondrodysplasia (POCD) is a perinatal-lethal micromelic dwarfism characterized by flipper-like limbs (polysyndactyly with complete syndactyly of all fingers and toes, hypoplastic or absent first digits, and duplicated intermediate and distal phalanges), macrobrachycephaly, prominant forehead, hypertelorism, and exophthalmos. Occasional features include cleft palate, omphalocele, and cardiac and genitourinary anomalies. The radiographic features at mid-gestation are characteristic.

Cerebrocostomandibular syndrome (CCMS) is characterized mainly by severe micrognathia, rib defects, and mental retardation. A spectrum of rib gap defects have been reported ranging from a few dorsal rib segments to complete absence of ossification. In about half of the 65 reported cases to date, there is cerebral involvement including mental retardation, microcephaly, and histologic anomalies. Both autosomal dominant and autosomal recessive forms of the disorder have been described (Zeevaert et al., 2009). See CDG2G (611209) for a cerebrocostomandibular-like syndrome.

Pallister-Killian syndrome (PKS) is a dysmorphic condition involving most organ systems, but is also characterized by a tissue-limited mosaicism; most fibroblasts have 47 chromosomes with an extra small metacentric chromosome, whereas the karyotype of lymphocytes is normal. The extra metacentric chromosome is an isochromosome for part of the short arm of chromosome 12: i(12)(p10) (Peltomaki et al., 1987; Warburton et al., 1987).

Floating-Harbor syndrome (FHS) is characterized by typical craniofacial features; low birth weight, normal head circumference, and short stature; bone age delay that normalizes between ages six and 12 years; skeletal anomalies (brachydactyly, clubbing, clinodactyly, short thumbs, prominent joints, clavicular abnormalities); severe receptive and expressive language impairment; hypernasality and high-pitched voice; and intellectual disability that is typically mild to moderate. Difficulties with temperament and behavior that are present in many children tend to improve in adulthood. Other features can include hyperopia and/or strabismus, conductive hearing loss, seizures, gastroesophageal reflux, renal anomalies (e.g., hydronephrosis / renal pelviectasis, cysts, and/or agenesis), and genital anomalies (e.g., hypospadias and/or undescended testes).

Prieto syndrome (PRS) is an X-linked intellectual developmental disorder characterized by mildly to severely impaired intellectual development, developmental delay, autism spectrum disorder, or neuropsychiatric symptoms, variably accompanied by speech delay, epilepsy, microcephaly, structural brain defects, and minor facial anomalies (summary by Kury et al., 2022).

The constitutional deletion of chromosome 1p36 results in a syndrome with multiple congenital anomalies and mental retardation (Shapira et al., 1997). Monosomy 1p36 is the most common terminal deletion syndrome in humans, occurring in 1 in 5,000 births (Shaffer and Lupski, 2000; Heilstedt et al., 2003). See also neurodevelopmental disorder with or without anomalies of the brain, eye, or heart (NEDBEH; 616975), which shows overlapping features and is caused by heterozygous mutation in the RERE gene (605226) on proximal chromosome 1p36. See also Radio-Tartaglia syndrome (RATARS; 619312), caused by mutation in the SPEN gene (613484) on chromosome 1p36, which shows overlapping features.

Holoprosencephaly-postaxial polydactyly syndrome associates, in chromosomally normal neonates, holoprosencephaly, severe facial dysmorphism, postaxial polydactyly and other congenital abnormalities, suggestive of trisomy 13. Incidence is unknown. Dysmorphic features include hypotelorism, severe eye anomalies such as microphthalmia or anophthalmia, premaxillary region aplasia and cleft lip and palate. Congenital cardiac anomalies are common. The condition seems to be inherited as an autosomal recessive trait. Prognosis is poor.

Carey et al. (1978) gave the name OEIS complex to a combination of defects comprising omphalocele, exstrophy of the cloaca, imperforate anus, and spinal defects. This rare complex is thought to represent the most severe end of a spectrum of birth defects, the exstrophy-epispadias sequence, which, in order of increasing severity, includes phallic separation with epispadias, pubic diastasis, exstrophy of the bladder (600057), cloacal exstrophy, and OEIS complex. Very few instances of recurrence of anomalies in this cluster have been reported.

Sedaghatian-type spondylometaphyseal dysplasia (SMDS) is a rare lethal disorder characterized by severe metaphyseal chondrodysplasia with mild limb shortening, platyspondyly, delayed epiphyseal ossification, irregular iliac crests, and pulmonary hemorrhage. Affected infants present with severe hypotonia and cardiorespiratory problems; most die within days of birth due to respiratory failure. Cardiac abnormalities include conduction defects, complete heart block, and structural anomalies. Half of infants with SMDS are reported to have central nervous system malformations consistent with abnormal neuronal migration, including agenesis of the corpus callosum, pronounced frontotemporal pachygyria, simplified gyral pattern, partial lissencephaly, and severe cerebellar hypoplasia (summary by Smith et al., 2014).

Microcephalic osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism type I is a severe autosomal recessive skeletal dysplasia characterized by dwarfism, microcephaly, and neurologic abnormalities, including mental retardation, brain malformations, and ocular/auditory sensory deficits. Patients often die in early childhood (summary by Pierce and Morse, 2012).

A multiple malformation syndrome in which mandibulofacial dysostosis and severe limb reduction defects are associated with complex malformations of different organs and systems especially the central nervous system, urogenital tract, heart, and lungs. The mandibulofacial defect causes death by respiratory distress. Limb reduction is severe and includes shoulder and pelvis hypoplasia, phocomelia with humerus hypoplasia, absent radius and ulna, complete absence of long bones of the legs, and various hand anomalies, predominantly preaxial reduction. These infants also show facial dysmorphism and ear anomalies. The condition is a rare with an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. The prognosis is poor and this condition leads to death in utero or shortly after birth.

Campomelic dysplasia (CD) is a skeletal dysplasia characterized by distinctive facies, Pierre Robin sequence with cleft palate, shortening and bowing of long bones, and clubfeet. Other findings include laryngotracheomalacia with respiratory compromise and ambiguous genitalia or normal female external genitalia in most individuals with a 46,XY karyotype. Many affected infants die in the neonatal period; additional findings identified in long-term survivors include short stature, cervical spine instability with cord compression, progressive scoliosis, and hearing impairment.

Diamond-Blackfan anemia (DBA) is characterized by a profound normochromic and usually macrocytic anemia with normal leukocytes and platelets, congenital malformations in up to 50%, and growth deficiency in 30% of affected individuals. The hematologic complications occur in 90% of affected individuals during the first year of life. The phenotypic spectrum ranges from a mild form (e.g., mild anemia or no anemia with only subtle erythroid abnormalities, physical malformations without anemia) to a severe form of fetal anemia resulting in nonimmune hydrops fetalis. DBA is associated with an increased risk for acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), and solid tumors including osteogenic sarcoma.

Orofaciodigital syndrome type VI (OFD6), or Varadi syndrome, is a rare autosomal recessive disorder distinguished from other orofaciodigital syndromes by metacarpal abnormalities with central polydactyly and by cerebellar abnormalities, including the molar tooth sign (summary by Doss et al., 1998 and Lopez et al., 2014).

Greenberg dysplasia (GRBGD), also known as hydrops-ectopic calcification-moth-eaten (HEM) skeletal dysplasia, is a rare autosomal recessive osteochondrodysplasia characterized by gross fetal hydrops, severe shortening of all long bones with a moth-eaten radiographic appearance, platyspondyly, disorganization of chondroosseous calcification, and ectopic ossification centers. It is lethal in utero. Patient fibroblasts show increased levels of cholesta-8,14-dien-3-beta-ol, suggesting a defect of sterol metabolism (summary by Konstantinidou et al., 2008). Herman (2003) reviewed the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway and 6 disorders involving enzyme defects in postsqualene cholesterol biosynthesis: Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS; 270400), desmosterolosis (602398), X-linked dominant chondrodysplasia punctata (CDPX2; 302960), CHILD syndrome (308050), lathosterolosis (607330), and HEM skeletal dysplasia.

Seckel syndrome is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by proportionate short stature, severe microcephaly, mental retardation, and a typical 'bird-head' facial appearance (summary by Kalay et al., 2011). For a general phenotypic description and a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of Seckel syndrome, see 210600.

X-linked dominant chondrodysplasia Chassaing-Lacombe type is a rare genetic bone disorder characterized by chondrodysplasia, intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), hydrocephaly and facial dysmorphism in the affected males.

CHST3-related skeletal dysplasia is characterized by short stature of prenatal onset, joint dislocations (knees, hips, radial heads), clubfeet, and limitation of range of motion that can involve all large joints. Kyphosis and occasionally scoliosis with slight shortening of the trunk develop in childhood. Minor heart valve dysplasia has been described in several persons. Intellect and vision are normal.

Congenital muscular dystrophy-dystroglycanopathy with brain and eye anomalies (type A) is a autosomal recessive disorder associated with severe neurologic defects and resulting in early infantile death. The phenotype includes the alternative clinical designations Walker-Warburg syndrome (WWS) and muscle-eye-brain disease (MEB). The disorder represents the most severe end of a phenotypic spectrum of similar disorders resulting from defective glycosylation of alpha-dystroglycan (DAG1; 128239), collectively known as dystroglycanopathies (summary by Buysse et al., 2013). For a general phenotypic description and a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of muscular dystrophy-dystroglycanopathy type A, see MDDGA1 (236670).

Seckel syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by severe pre- and postnatal growth retardation, severe microcephaly with mental retardation, and specific dysmorphic features (Faivre et al., 2002). For a general description and a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of Seckel syndrome, see 210600.

Any spondyloepimetaphyseal dysplasia with joint laxity in which the cause of the disease is a mutation in the B3GALT6 gene.

CLIFAHDD is a congenital disorder characterized by congenital contractures of the limbs and face, resulting in characteristic facial features, hypotonia, and variable degrees of developmental delay. All reported cases have occurred de novo (summary by Chong et al., 2015).

MISSLA is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by intrauterine growth retardation, microcephaly, variable short stature, and limb abnormalities mainly affecting the upper limb and radial ray. Affected individuals typically have mild intellectual disability, but may have normal development (summary by Reynolds et al., 2017).

Vertebral, cardiac, renal, and limb defects syndrome-2 (VCRL2) is an autosomal recessive congenital malformation syndrome characterized by vertebral segmentation abnormalities, congenital cardiac defects, renal defects, and mild distal limb defects. Additional features are variable (summary by Shi et al., 2017). For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of VCRL, see VCRL1 (617660).

Seckel syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by intrauterine growth retardation, dwarfism, microcephaly with mental retardation, and a characteristic 'bird-headed' facial appearance (Shanske et al., 1997). Genetic Heterogeneity of Seckel Syndrome Other forms of Seckel syndrome include SCKL2 (606744), caused by mutation in the RBBP8 gene (604124) on chromosome 18q11; SCKL4 (613676), caused by mutation in the CENPJ gene (609279) on chromosome 13q12; SCKL5 (613823), caused by mutation in the CEP152 gene (613529) on chromosome 15q21; SCKL6 (614728), caused by mutation in the CEP63 gene (614724) on chromosome 3q22; SCKL7 (614851), caused by mutation in the NIN gene (608684) on chromosome 14q22; SCKL8 (615807), caused by mutation in the DNA2 gene (601810) on chromosome 10q21; SCKL9 (616777), caused by mutation in the TRAIP gene (605958) on chromosome 3p21; SCKL10 (617253), caused by mutation in the NSMCE2 gene (617246) on chromosome 8q24; and SCKL11 (620767), caused by mutation in the CEP295 gene (617728) on chromosome 11q21. The report of a Seckel syndrome locus on chromosome 14q, designated SCKL3, by Kilinc et al. (2003) was found to be in error; see History section.

Fetal akinesia deformation sequence-4 (FADS4) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by decreased fetal movements due to impaired neuromuscular function, resulting in significant congenital contractures and death in utero or soon after birth (summary by Bonnin et al., 2018). For a general phenotypic description and a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of FADS, see 208150.

Neurodevelopmental disorder with central and peripheral motor dysfunction (NEDCPMD) is an autosomal recessive neurologic disorder with a highly variable phenotype. At the severe end of the spectrum, patients may have hypotonia apparent from birth, necessitating mechanical respiration and tube-feeding, and global developmental delay with absence of reaction to touch and no eye contact. At the mild end of the spectrum, patients may present with infantile-onset progressive ataxia and demyelinating peripheral neuropathy. The disorder is caused by mutation in the NFASC gene, which has several neuronal- and glial-specific transcripts. The variable clinical phenotype may be caused by several factors, including the severity of the mutation, the selective involvement of distinct isoforms by pathogenic variants, and the presence of genetic modifiers (summary by Monfrini et al., 2019).

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.

Heyn-Sproul-Jackson syndrome (HESJAS) is characterized by microcephalic dwarfism and global developmental delay (Heyn et al., 2019).

Arthrogryposis multiplex congenita-5 (AMC5) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by severe joint contractures apparent at birth. Affected individuals usually have hypertonia and abnormal movements suggestive of dystonia, as well as feeding and/or breathing difficulties. More variable features may include poor overall growth, strabismus, dysmorphic facies, and global developmental delay with impaired speech (summary by Kariminejad et al., 2017).

Short stature, facial dysmorphism, and skeletal anomalies with or without cardiac anomalies-2 (SSFSC2) is characterized by thin and short long bones, distinctive facial dysmorphism, and dental and skeletal abnormalities, in the absence of developmental delay or intellectual disability. Cardiac anomalies have been reported in some patients (Lin et al., 2021). For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of SSFSC, see SSFSC1 (617877).

Primordial dwarfism-immunodeficiency-lipodystrophy syndrome (PDIL) is characterized by pre- and postnatal growth restriction, with extreme microcephaly, short stature, and absence of subcutaneous fat. There is also significant hematologic/immune dysfunction, with hypo- or agammaglobulinemia, as well as lymphopenia, anemia, and thrombocytopenia, and most affected individuals succumb to infection in early childhood (Parry et al., 2020).

Diaphragmatic hernia-4 with cardiovascular defects (DIH4) is an autosomal recessive congenital anomaly syndrome characterized by the presence of diaphragmatic hernia or eventration apparent at birth. Affected infants have associated pulmonary hypoplasia and respiratory insufficiency resulting in death in infancy. Most also have variable cardiovascular defects, including aortopulmonary window or conotruncal anomalies. Dysmorphic facial features and mild distal limb anomalies are sometimes observed (Beecroft et al., 2021). For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), see DIH1 (142340).

Neurodevelopmental disorder with dysmorphic facies and skeletal and brain abnormalities (NEDDFSB) is a multisystemic developmental disorder characterized by feeding difficulties, poor overall growth, and global developmental delay with moderate to severely impaired intellectual development and poor or absent speech. Affected individuals have dysmorphic facial features and skeletal defects, mainly affecting the distal extremities. More variable additional findings include hypotonia, seizures, and ocular defects. Brain imaging tends to show structural defects of the corpus callosum and cerebellar hypoplasia (Duijkers et al., 2019).