Ophthalmic features in a dysmorphic boy with chromosome 4q deletion and duplication

A familial deletion 4q syndrome: An outcome of a paracentric inversion

Chromosome inversions are intra-chromosomal rearrangements formed when the chromosome breaks occur at two places, and in the process of repair the intervening segments are joined in an inverted or opposite manner. Inversions themselves do not appear to cause clinical anomalies, if balanced. Abnormal phenotypes can occur due to gene disruption at the point of breakage and reunion or due to duplication/deficiency recombinants formed during crossover at meiosis. We report a case with familial deletion 4q syndrome in a 1-year-old female child with dysmorphism and congenital abnormalities. The deletion was an outcome of a paracentric inversion 4q31.2q35.2. The deletion was confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization using telomeric DNA probes for chromosome No. 4. An attempt was made to correlate the genotype with the phenotype. The father had the same rearrangement with a milder phenotype. The recurrence risk in such cases is high.

Novel Vascular Malformation in an Affected Newborn with Deletion Del(4)(q31.3)

We report on a newborn male patient with a terminal deletion in the long arm of the chromosome 4 with a congenital heart defect unreported before in association with this syndrome. The patient had multiple congenital anomalies including a pointed duplicated fingernail, low set posteriorly rotated ears, large anterior fontanel, micrognathia, glabellar capillary vascular malformation, and Interrupted Aortic Arch type C. The patient died due to multiple congenital malformations; a peripheral chromosome analysis showed 46, XY, del(4)(q31.3) de novo. The only reported case with the same deletion was a male newborn that exhibited the pattern of minor anomalies of deletion 4q31 syndrome. The parents were cytogenetically normal. We compare clinical signs to other cases with a deletion in long arm of chromosome 4.