Could the 14q23.2 microdeletion or AKAP5 haploinsufficiency be a potential cause of intellectual disability?

Intellectual disability is characterized by impairment in at least two of the following areas: social skills, communication skills, self-care tasks, and academic skills. These impairments are evaluated in relation to the expected standards based on the individual's age and cultural levels. Additionally, intellectual disability is typically defined by a measurable level of intellectual functioning, represented by an intelligence quotients core of 70 or below. Autism spectrum disorder is a developmental disability resulting from differences in the brain, often characterized by problems in social communication and interaction, and limited or repetitive behaviors or interests. Hereditary spherocytosis is a disease characterized by anemia, jaundice, and splenomegaly as a result of increased tendency to hemolysis with morphological transformation of erythrocytes from biconcave disc-shaped cells with central pallor to spherocytes lacking central pallor due to hereditary injury of cellular membrane proteins. An 11-year-old female patient was referred to Pediatric Genetics Subdivision due to the presence of growth retardation and a diagnosis of hereditary spherocytosis. Since she also had dysmorphic facial features, such as frontal bossing, broad and prominent forehead, tubular nasal structure, and thin vermillion, genetic tests were performed. Chromosomal microarray analysis revealed a 2.5 Mb deletion in the 14q23.2q23.3 region. Deletion was also identified in the same region in her father, who had the same phenotypic characteristics, including hereditary spherocytosis and learning difficulties. We propose that the PLEKHG3 and AKAP5 genes, which are located in this region, may contribute to the development of intellectual disability.

Lenz-Majewski syndrome and recurrent otitis media: Are they related or not?

Lenz-Majewski hyperostotic dwarfism (LMHD) is a rare condition characterized by intellectual disability, sclerosing bone dysplasia, dysmorphic facial features, brachydactyly, symphalangism and cutis laxa. Nineteen cases have been reported in the literature so far, eleven of them with PTDSS1 mutations. Although studies have had clinically similar findings, in some cases the authors have reported even rarer features such as hydrocephalus, facial paralysis, and cleft palate. We, hereby, report the case of the first patient with Lenz-Majewski syndrome (LMS) with molecular confirmation from Turkey. Although our patient had characteristic features described in the literature, she also had immunodeficiency, which has not been reported before. Although there is no established phenotype-genotype correlation, molecular mechanisms can be explained with the reporting of more patients.