Cornelia de Lange Syndrome

Sinusitis-associated ischemic stroke in an adolescent patient with Cornelia de Lange syndrome

A 17-year-old boy presented with a high-grade fever. The patient had been previously diagnosed with Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS). The patient visited a local physician and was diagnosed with sinusitis. Owing to persistent fever, the patient was referred to our hospital. At the initial presentation, his body temperature was 38.2°C, while maintaining previous living activities and neurological function. Despite changing the antibiotic to amoxicillin, the patient's fever persisted with worsened activity. At the second presentation, the patient presented with left hemiparesis. Blood examination revealed increased white blood cell count and serum C-reactive protein level. Emergency magnetic resonance imaging revealed acute cerebral infarcts in the right cerebral hemisphere, with evident stenosis in the right paraclinoid segment of the internal carotid artery (ICA). In addition, an abscess was found in the cerebellar hemisphere, which was punctured through the burr hole. Computed tomography performed after the completion of antibiotic therapy revealed a restored diameter of the stenotic ICA. Sinusitis can cause ischemic stroke due to compressive stenosis of the paraclinoid ICA, particularly in patients with CdLS. Sinusitis should be preferentially managed in patients with CdLS.

Cornelia de Lange Syndrome Caused by an Intragenic Heterozygous Deletion in RAD21 Detected through Very-High-Resolution Chromosomal Microarray Analysis

Cornelia de Lange syndrome is a genetic and clinically heterogeneous entity, caused by at least five genes. It is characterized by short stature, gestalt facies, microcephaly, neurodevelopmental disorders, and other anomalies. In this report, we present a 13-year-old female patient with microcephaly, cleft palate, polydactyly, short stature, triangular facies, frontal bossing, a bulbous nose, an overfolded helix, limited pronosupination, and an anomalous uterus. No neurodevelopmental disorders were reported. A chromosomal microarray analysis of 6.5 million markers was performed in the proband and her parents. The results showed a de novo heterozygous microdeletion of exons 9-14 within RAD21, which confirmed the diagnosis of Cornelia de Lange syndrome type 4. Our patient did not show any neurologic phenotype (until the time of diagnosis), although neurodevelopmental disorders are frequently present in patients with Cornelia de Lange syndrome type 4, and despite carrying a deletion that was larger than previously reported. Therefore, unknown genetic modifiers or intrinsic mechanisms of RAD21 variants may exist and should be studied.