bulbous nose

This is a severe congenital neurodevelopmental disorder with global delay, hypotonia, and characteristic facies.  It is usually present at birth and soon manifest as a profound intellectual delay.  Most patients do not develop speech or independent motor skills.  Feeding difficulties are evident early and often require gastric tube placement for nutrition.  Failure to thrive is common.   Most patients have seizures of a tonic-clonic or atonic type which may be controlled with medication. 

Microcephaly, brachycephaly, plagiocephaly, and brachycephaly have been described.  A high forehead with frontal bossing, facial hypotonia, triangular facies have been described.  The ears are low-set and posteriorly rotated.  The upper lip is often thin and the mouth is commonly open.  The neck appears short, the nose is bulbous while the nasal bridge is prominent and the nares may be anteverted.

Brain imaging is normal in some patients but there is evidence of generalized cerebral atrophy, with a thin corpus callosum and decreased myelination in others.  Variable features such as scoliosis, hip contractures, muscle wasting, and dyskinesias are sometimes seen.

Children have severe psychomotor delays from birth and have severe mental retardation.  Speech and normal motor function never develop fully.  Thoracic kyphosis begins in late childhood and contractures develop in the elbows and knees.  A CAT scan in one patient revealed only normal findings.  Facial features have been described as ‘coarse’ with prominent lips, broad nasal bridge, and a bulbous nose.  Some individuals with this condition have lived into the 5^th decade.  Ataxia is usually present although the cerebellum may be normal on MRI.

A variety of  systemic features, some of them serious malformations, occur in Alagille syndrome.  Among the most common is a partial intrahepatic biliary atresia leading to cholestasis and jaundice.  Skeletal malformations include 'butterfly' vertebrae, shortened digits, short stature, a broad forehead, and a pointed chin.  The tip of the nose may appear bulbous.  These features have suggested to some that there is a characteristic facial dysmorphology.  Vascular malformations are common including aneurysms affecting major vessels, valvular insufficiency, coarctation of the aorta, and stenosis and these are often responsible for the most serious health problems.  In fact, vascular events have been reported to be responsible for mortality in 34% of one cohort.  Chronic renal insufficiency develops in a minority of patients.  This disorder should always be considered in children with cholestasis, especially when accompanied by cystic kidney disease.  Brain MRIs may show diffuse or focal hyperintensity of white matter even in the absence of hepatic encephalopathy.