Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD) is characterized by the clinical triad of: joint contractures that begin in early childhood; slowly progressive muscle weakness and wasting initially in a humero-peroneal distribution that later extends to the scapular and pelvic girdle muscles; and cardiac involvement that may manifest as palpitations, presyncope and syncope, poor exercise tolerance, and congestive heart failure along with variable cardiac rhythm disturbances. Age of onset, severity, and progression of muscle and cardiac involvement demonstrate both inter- and intrafamilial variability. Clinical variability ranges from early onset with severe presentation in childhood to late onset with slow progression in adulthood. In general, joint contractures appear during the first two decades, followed by muscle weakness and wasting. Cardiac involvement usually occurs after the second decade and respiratory function may be impaired in some individuals.

The autosomal dominant TRPV4 disorders (previously considered to be clinically distinct phenotypes before their molecular basis was discovered) are now grouped into neuromuscular disorders and skeletal dysplasias; however, the overlap within each group is considerable. Affected individuals typically have either neuromuscular or skeletal manifestations alone, and in only rare instances an overlap syndrome has been reported. The three autosomal dominant neuromuscular disorders (mildest to most severe) are: Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2C. Scapuloperoneal spinal muscular atrophy. Congenital distal spinal muscular atrophy. The autosomal dominant neuromuscular disorders are characterized by a congenital-onset, static, or later-onset progressive peripheral neuropathy with variable combinations of laryngeal dysfunction (i.e., vocal fold paresis), respiratory dysfunction, and joint contractures. The six autosomal dominant skeletal dysplasias (mildest to most severe) are: Familial digital arthropathy-brachydactyly. Autosomal dominant brachyolmia. Spondylometaphyseal dysplasia, Kozlowski type. Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia, Maroteaux type. Parastremmatic dysplasia. Metatropic dysplasia. The skeletal dysplasia is characterized by brachydactyly (in all 6); the five that are more severe have short stature that varies from mild to severe with progressive spinal deformity and involvement of the long bones and pelvis. In the mildest of the autosomal dominant TRPV4 disorders life span is normal; in the most severe it is shortened. Bilateral progressive sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) can occur with both autosomal dominant neuromuscular disorders and skeletal dysplasias.

MDDGC4 is an autosomal recessive muscular dystrophy with onset in infancy or early childhood. Cognition and brain structure are usually normal (Godfrey et al., 2006). It is part of a group of similar disorders resulting from defective glycosylation of alpha-dystroglycan (DAG1; 128239), collectively known as 'dystroglycanopathies' (Mercuri et al., 2009).