Seizures, scoliosis, and macrocephaly/microcephaly syndrome (SSMS) is an autosomal recessive neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by global developmental delay apparent from early infancy, impaired intellectual development, behavioral problems, poor or absent speech, seizures, dysmorphic facial features with macro- or microcephaly, and skeletal abnormalities, including scoliosis and delayed bone age. Other features may include hypotonia, gastrointestinal problems, and exostoses (summary by Gentile et al., 2019).

Alpha-thalassemia X-linked intellectual disability (ATR-X) syndrome is characterized by distinctive craniofacial features, genital anomalies, hypotonia, and mild-to-profound developmental delay / intellectual disability (DD/ID). Craniofacial abnormalities include small head circumference, telecanthus or widely spaced eyes, short triangular nose, tented upper lip, and thick or everted lower lip with coarsening of the facial features over time. While all affected individuals have a normal 46,XY karyotype, genital anomalies comprise a range from hypospadias and undescended testicles, to severe hypospadias and ambiguous genitalia, to normal-appearing female external genitalia. Alpha-thalassemia, observed in about 75% of affected individuals, is mild and typically does not require treatment. Osteosarcoma has been reported in a few males with germline pathogenic variants.

Periventricular nodular heterotopia-9 (PVNH9) is an autosomal dominant neurologic disorder characterized as a malformation of cortical development. Anterior predominant PVNH, thin corpus callosum, and decreased white matter volume are found on brain imaging, but the clinical effects are variable. Most patients have impaired intellectual development and cognitive defects associated with low IQ (range 50 to 80), learning disabilities, and behavior abnormalities. Some patients develop seizures that tend to have a focal origin. However, some mutation carriers may be less severely affected with borderline or even normal IQ, suggesting incomplete penetrance of the phenotype (summary by Heinzen et al., 2018, Walters et al., 2018). For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of periventricular nodular heterotopia, see 300049.

Autosomal recessive primary microcephaly-29 (MCPH29) is characterized by small head circumference apparent at birth and associated with global developmental delay, impaired intellectual development, speech delay, and behavioral abnormalities. Affected individuals also have poor overall growth with short stature, mild dysmorphic facial features, and seizures (Khan et al., 2020). For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of primary microcephaly, see MCPH1 (251200).