A novel syndrome of abnormal striatum and congenital cataract: evidence for linkage to chromosomes 11

Abstract

We report a consanguineous family of three girls and one boy affected with a novel syndrome involving the lens and the basal ganglia. The phenotype is strikingly similar between affected siblings with cognitive impairment, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), microcephaly, growth retardation, congenital cataract, and dystonia. The magnetic resonance imaging showed unusual pattern of swelling of the caudate heads and thinning of the putamina with severe degree of hypometabolism on the [18F] deoxyglucose positron emission tomography. Furthermore, the clinical assessment provides the evidence that the neurological phenotype is very slowly progressive. We utilized the 10K single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarray genotyping for linkage analysis. Genome-wide scan indicated a 45.9-Mb region with a 4.2353 logarithm of the odds score on chromosome 11. Affymetrix genome-wide human SNP array 6.0 assay did not show any gross chromosomal abnormality. Targeted sequencing of two candidate genes within the linkage interval (PAX6 and B3GALTL) as well as mtDNA genome sequencing did not reveal any putative mutations.

Keywords: Affymetrix 10K mapping assay; Affymetrix 6.0 mapping assay; cataract; chromosome 11; dysmorphia; genome-wide scan; linkage; mental retardation; microcephaly; putamen.