Bryan D. Hall

Choanal atresia and associated multiple anomalies

Seventeen unrelated patients with multiple anomalies of unknown etiology were identified by the presence of choanal atresia. A regularly recurring pattern of associated features involving mental retardation, postnatal growth deficiency, hypogenitalism (males), small ears, cardiac defects, micrognathia, postnatal microcephaly, and ocular coloboma was identified. Choanal atresia when accompanied by multiple anomalies of unknown etiology has a serious prognosis with a predictable pattern of associated defects.

The amniotic band disruption complex: Timing of amniotic rupture and variable spectra of consequent defects

Seventy-nine patients with the amniotic band disruption complex, including 54 infants with multiple system involvement and 25 with affected limbs alone, were evaluated. No two cases of the disorder were exactly alike. Defects varied from simple digital band constrictions to major craniofacial and visceral defects; fetal death may also occur. Amniotic rupture appeared to cause injury through three basic mechanisms: (1) interruption of normal morphogenesis; (2) crowing of fetal parts; and (3) disruption of previously differentiated structure. Comparison of 35 cases in which the timing of amniotic rupture could be estimated suggests that early amniotic rupture results in multiply affected infants who are frequently aborted or stillborn, whereas later rupture results primarily in limb involvement. Our findings indicate that both the spectrum of the developmental pathology and the nature of fetal outcome are determined by the timing of amniotic rupture. Appreciation of the mechanism which explains the disparate appearances of infants with the amniotic band disruption complex will allow more acurate diagnosis and appropriate counseling with respect to the sporadic nature of the disorder.

Macrocephaly in association with unusual cutaneous angiomatosis

Ten patients are presented who demonstrate a newly recognized association of macrocephaly with unusual angiomatosis and limb asymmetry in three somewhat similar cutaneous vascular disorders: Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome, the combination of Sturge-Weber anomaly with Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome, and cutis marmorata telangiectatica congenita. The etiology of the macrocephaly in patients with these conditions is unknown. The majority (seven of ten) of these children have no evidence of central nervous system dysfunction.

7q deletion syndrome (7q32→7qter)

Four independently ascertained children who presented with unusual facies and delayed mental and physical development were found to have a similar deletion of part of the long arm of chromosome 7 (46, XX or XY, del(7)(q32); 46, XX or XY, del(7)(pter→q32:)). Comparison of the findings of these four cases with one other case report of a similar deletion revealed similar dysmorphologic features in all five cases.

Partial trisomy for the distal long arm of chromosome 5 (region q34→qter). A new clinically recognizable syndrome

This report describes a family in which eight individuals in three generations had mental retardation in association with a characteristic pattern of clinical problems and physical abnormalities including short stature, eczema, hernias, delayed puberty, dysmorphic facies and digital anomalies. The family history was consistent with a chromosomal rearrangement with transmission through balanced carriers. Routine ASG banding studies showed extra chromosomal material on a chromosome 16 but failed to demonstrate any differences between the affected individuals and the presumed carriers. However, subsequent studies utilizing trypsin banding and microspectrophotometry of individual chromosomes demonstrated that the affected individuals were partially trisomic for the distal band of the long arm of chromosome 5 and that 0.273 units of a chromosome 5 were translocated to chromosome 16. This definitive cytogenetic diagnosis permitted accurate prenatal diagnosis to be carried out on the fetus of a balanced carrier female. The application of these techniques to previously obscure familial dysmorphic syndromes is recommended.

Prenatal diagnosis of achondrogenesis.

Severe rhizomelic and mesomelic dwarfism was demonstrated in a 20-week gestation fetus by amniography. A systematic progressive approach to prenatal diagnosis in the absence of a definitive diagnosis and the use of contrast radiography is discussed.

Prenatal diagnosis of dysplastic kidney disease

Sonolucent areas in the region of the kidneys were demonstrated by ultrasound in a 23‐week‐old fetus. These sonolucent areas persisted and enlarged during the pregnancy and the infant had the Potter phenotype and Potter type 2A dysplastic kidneys at birth. The use of prenatal sonographic evaluation of the fetal kidneys is discussed.

Prenatal diagnosis of congenital anomalies in an intrauterine growth retarded fetus.

SummaryChromosome analysis of amniotic fluid cells and amniotic fluid alpha-fetoprotein determinations were used to investigate a fetus with severe intrauterine growth retardation in the third trimester. The karyotype was 47,XY,18+ and increased alpha-fetoprotein levels indicated the presence of congenital malformations. We suggest that when severe fetal growth retardation is detected early in the antepartum course, amniotic fluid alpha-fetoprotein and amniotic fluid cell chromosome studies be done to determine if congenital anomalies may be an etiological factor.