Nail-patella syndrome (NPS) (previously referred to as Fong's disease), encompasses the classic clinical tetrad of changes in the nails, knees, and elbows, and the presence of iliac horns. Nail changes are the most constant feature of NPS. Nails may be absent, hypoplastic, or dystrophic; ridged longitudinally or horizontally; pitted; discolored; separated into two halves by a longitudinal cleft or ridge of skin; and thin or (less often) thickened. The patellae may be small, irregularly shaped, or absent. Elbow abnormalities may include limitation of extension, pronation, and supination; cubitus valgus; and antecubital pterygia. Iliac horns are bilateral, conical, bony processes that project posteriorly and laterally from the central part of the iliac bones of the pelvis. Renal involvement, first manifest as proteinuria with or without hematuria, occurs in 30%-50% of affected individuals; end-stage renal disease occurs up to 15% of affected individuals. Primary open-angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension occur at increased frequency and at a younger age than in the general population.

Hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (HED) is characterized by hypotrichosis (sparseness of scalp and body hair), hypohidrosis (reduced ability to sweat), and hypodontia (congenital absence of teeth). The cardinal features of classic HED become obvious during childhood. The scalp hair is thin, lightly pigmented, and slow growing. Sweating, although present, is greatly deficient, leading to episodes of hyperthermia until the affected individual or family acquires experience with environmental modifications to control temperature. Only a few abnormally formed teeth erupt, at a later-than-average age. Physical growth and psychomotor development are otherwise within normal limits. Mild HED is characterized by mild manifestations of any or all the characteristic features.

Koilonychia, or 'spoon nails,' is a relatively uncommon disorder in which the nails are abnormally thin and concave from side to side, with the edges turned up. Single or multiple fingers and/or toes may be involved (summary by Bumpers and Bishop, 1980). Koilonychia is referred to here as nonsyndromic congenital nail disorder-2 (NDNC2). For a list of other nonsyndromic congenital nail disorders and a discussion of genetic heterogeneity, see NDNC1 (161050).

Some ectodermal dysplasias are here classified as congenital disorders characterized by abnormal development in 2 or more ectodermal structures (hair, nails, teeth, and sweat glands) without other systemic findings. Witkop syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant ectodermal dysplasia involving the teeth and nails. Although a few reported cases have sparse or fine hair, almost all affected individuals have normal hair, sweat glands, and ability to tolerate heat. Affected individuals have a variable number and variable types of congenitally missing permanent and/or primary teeth, which frequently results in lip eversion due to loss of occlusion in the vertical dimension. Nails are generally thin, slow-growing, brittle, and spoon-shaped (koilonychia). Toenails are usually more severely affected than fingernails. The nail defects are alleviated with age and may not be easily detectable during adulthood (summary by Jumlongras et al., 2001).

Trichorhinophalangeal syndrome (TRPS) comprises TRPS I (caused by a heterozygous pathogenic variant in TRPS1) and TRPS II (caused by contiguous gene deletion of TRPS1, RAD21, and EXT1). Both types of TRPS are characterized by distinctive facial features; ectodermal features (fine, sparse, depigmented, and slow growing hair; dystrophic nails; and small breasts); and skeletal findings (short stature; short feet; brachydactyly with ulnar or radial deviation of the fingers; and early, marked hip dysplasia). TRPS II is characterized by multiple osteochondromas (typically first observed clinically on the scapulae and around the elbows and knees between ages 1 month and 6 years) and an increased risk of mild-to-moderate intellectual disability.

Any inherited isolated nail anomaly in which the cause of the disease is a mutation in the PLCD1 gene.

While the majority of individuals with Costello syndrome share characteristic findings affecting multiple organ systems, the phenotypic spectrum is wide, ranging from a milder 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 typical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy), congenital heart defect (usually valvar pulmonic stenosis), and arrhythmia (usually supraventricular tachycardia, especially chaotic 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.

Trichothiodystrophy is a rare autosomal recessive disorder in which patients have brittle, sulfur-deficient hair that displays a diagnostic alternating light and dark banding pattern, called 'tiger tail banding,' under polarizing microscopy. TTD patients display a wide variety of clinical features, including cutaneous, neurologic, and growth abnormalities. Common additional clinical features are ichthyosis, intellectual/developmental disabilities, decreased fertility, abnormal characteristics at birth, ocular abnormalities, short stature, and infections. There are both photosensitive and nonphotosensitive forms of the disorder (summary by Faghri et al., 2008). Sabinas brittle hair syndrome (211390) is another form of nonphotosensitive TTD. For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of trichothiodystrophy, see 601675.

Some ectodermal dysplasias are here classified as congenital disorders characterized by abnormal development in 2 or more ectodermal structures (hair, nails, teeth, and sweat glands) without other systemic findings. Ectodermal dysplasia of the hair/nail type is a rare congenital condition characterized by hypotrichosis and nail dystrophy without nonectodermal or other ectodermal manifestations. Hypotrichosis usually occurs after birth with varying degrees of severity, ranging from mild hair loss to complete atrichia, including the loss of scalp hair, beard, eyebrows, eyelashes, axillary hair, and pubic hair. Nail dystrophy affects all 20 digits by causing short fragile nails or spoon nails (koilonychia) (summary by Lin et al., 2012).

Tonne-Kalscheuer syndrome (TOKAS) is an X-linked recessive multiple congenital anomaly disorder with 2 main presentations. Most patients exhibit global developmental delay apparent from early infancy, impaired intellectual development, speech delay, behavioral abnormalities, and abnormal gait. Affected individuals also have dysmorphic facial features that evolve with age, anomalies of the hands, feet, and nails, and urogenital abnormalities with hypogenitalism. A subset of more severely affected males develop congenital diaphragmatic hernia in utero, which may result in perinatal or premature death. Carrier females may have very mild skeletal or hormonal abnormalities (summary by Frints et al., 2019). Also see Fryns syndrome (229850), an autosomal recessive disorder with overlapping features.

Isolated congenital onychodysplasia, here referred to as nonsyndromic congenital nail disorder-7 (NDNC7), is characterized by longitudinal streaks, thinning, and impaired formation of the nail plates leading to increased vulnerability of the free nail margins. The most characteristic finding is a conspicuous reddish dome-shaped prominence of the proximal nail plate from which the longitudinal ridges originate, but this is present in only about half of patients. In most cases, all fingernails and toenails are involved, with some accentuation of the changes in the thumb nails and great toe nails (summary by Hamm et al., 2000 and Krebsova et al., 2000). For a list of other nonsyndromic congenital nail disorders and a discussion of genetic heterogeneity, see NDNC1 (161050).