Barber-Say Syndrome

Clinical Characteristics

Ocular Features:

The ocular features consist mainly of skin changes in the lids including hyperlaxity and redundancy. There may be ectropion of the lower eyelids and sparsity of the eyebrows. Some evidence of micro- or ablepharon is often present. Hypertelorism and exophthalmia have been described.

Systemic Features:

Multiple external congenital anomalies are present at birth including skin laxity, hypertrichosis (especially of the forehead, neck and back), and low-set and malformed pinnae. Macrostomia and thin lips with redundant facial skin are often evident. The nose appears bulbous. The thoracic skin can be atrophic and the nipples may be hypoplastic. Hypospadias has been reported. A highly arched or cleft palate may be present and some individuals have a conductive hearing loss. The teeth are small and eruption may be delayed. Cognitive deficits may be present and mental retardation has been reported.

Genetics

Based on genotyping and the limited number of reported pedigrees, inheritance most likely follows an autosomal dominant pattern. Direct parent to child transmission has been reported. Detailed examination of parents sometimes reveals mild features that are easily missed. Mutations in the TWIST2 gene have been found in 10 unrelated individuals with Barber-Say syndrome.

TWIST2 mutations have also been found in Setleis syndrome (227260) and in ablepharon-macrostomia syndrome (200110). These conditions have some clinical features in common with Barber-Say syndrome.

Treatment

Treatment Options:

There is no known treatment for this disorder but correction of selected anomalies such as ectropion and cleft palate may be indicated.

References

Article Title:

Recurrent Mutations in the Basic Domain of TWIST2 Cause Ablepharon Macrostomia and Barber-Say Syndromes

Marchegiani S, Davis T, Tessadori F, van Haaften G, Brancati F, Hoischen A, Huang H, Valkanas E, Pusey B, Schanze D, Venselaar H, Vulto-van Silfhout AT, Wolfe LA, Tifft CJ, Zerfas PM, Zambruno G, Kariminejad A, Sabbagh-Kermani F, Lee J, Tsokos MG, Lee CC, Ferraz V, da Silva EM, Stevens CA, Roche N, Bartsch O, Farndon P, Bermejo-Sanchez E, Brooks BP, Maduro V, Dallapiccola B, Ramos FJ, Chung HY, Le Caignec C, Martins F, Jacyk WK, Mazzanti L, Brunner HG, Bakkers J, Lin S, Malicdan MC, Boerkoel CF, Gahl WA, de Vries BB, van Haelst MM, Zenker M, Markello TC. Recurrent Mutations in the Basic Domain of TWIST2 Cause Ablepharon Macrostomia and Barber-Say Syndromes. Am J Hum Genet. 2015 Jul 2;97(1):99-110.

PubMed ID:

26119818