MedGen

Developmental and epileptic encephalopathy-85 with or without midline brain defects (DEE85) is an X-linked neurologic disorder characterized by onset of severe refractory seizures in the first year of life, global developmental delay with impaired intellectual development and poor or absent speech, and dysmorphic facial features. The seizures tend to show a cyclic pattern with clustering. Many patients have midline brain defects on brain imaging, including thin corpus callosum and/or variable forms of holoprosencephaly (HPE). The severity and clinical manifestations are variable. Almost all reported patients are females with de novo mutations predicted to result in a loss of function (LOF). However, some patients may show skewed X inactivation, and the pathogenic mechanism may be due to a dominant-negative effect. The SMC1A protein is part of the multiprotein cohesin complex involved in chromatid cohesion during DNA replication and transcriptional regulation; DEE85 can thus be classified as a 'cohesinopathy' (summary by Symonds et al., 2017 and Kruszka et al., 2019). For a general phenotypic description and a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of DEE, see 308350. [from OMIM]

Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS) encompasses a spectrum of findings from mild to severe. Severe (classic) CdLS is characterized by distinctive facial features, growth restriction (prenatal onset; <5th centile throughout life), hypertrichosis, and upper-limb reduction defects that range from subtle phalangeal abnormalities to oligodactyly (missing digits). Craniofacial features include synophrys, highly arched and/or thick eyebrows, long eyelashes, short nasal bridge with anteverted nares, small widely spaced teeth, and microcephaly. Individuals with a milder phenotype have less severe growth, cognitive, and limb involvement, but often have facial features consistent with CdLS. Across the CdLS spectrum IQ ranges from below 30 to 102 (mean: 53). Many individuals demonstrate autistic and self-destructive tendencies. Other frequent findings include cardiac septal defects, gastrointestinal dysfunction, hearing loss, myopia, and cryptorchidism or hypoplastic genitalia. [from GeneReviews]