Weill–Marchesani syndrome is a rare

genetic disorder A genetic disorder is a health problem caused by one or more abnormalities in the genome. It can be caused by a mutation in a single gene (monogenic) or multiple genes (polygenic) or by a chromosome abnormality. Although polygenic disorders ...

characterized by short stature; an unusually short, broad head (

brachycephaly Brachycephaly (derived from the Ancient Greek '' βραχύς'', 'short' and '' κεφαλή'', 'head') is the shape of a skull shorter than average in its species. It is perceived as a cosmetically desirable trait in some domesticated dog and ...

) and other facial abnormalities; hand defects, including unusually short fingers (

brachydactyly Brachydactyly () is a medical term denoting the presence of abnormally short digits (fingers or toes) at birth. The shortness is relative to the length of other long bones and other parts of the body. Brachydactyly is an inherited, dominant t ...

); and distinctive eye (

ocular An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the eye ...

) abnormalities. It was named after ophthalmologists Georges Weill (1866–1952) and Oswald Marchesani (1900–1952) who first described it in 1932 and 1939, respectively. The eye manifestations typically include unusually small, round lenses of the eyes (

microspherophakia Microspherophakia is a rare congenital autosomal recessive condition where the lens of the eye is smaller than normal and spherically shaped. This condition may be associated with a number of disorders including Peter's anomaly, Marfan syndrome, ...

), which may be prone to dislocating (

ectopia lentis Ectopia lentis is a displacement or malposition of the eye's lens from its normal location. A partial dislocation of a lens is termed lens subluxation or subluxated lens; a complete dislocation of a lens is termed lens luxation or luxated lens ...

), as well as other ocular defects. Due to such abnormalities, affected individuals may have varying degrees of visual impairment, ranging from nearsightedness

myopia Myopia, also known as near-sightedness and short-sightedness, is an eye condition where light from distant objects focuses in front of, instead of on, the retina. As a result, distant objects appear blurry, while close objects appear normal. ...

to blindness. Weill–Marchesani syndrome may have

autosomal An autosome is any chromosome that is not a sex chromosome. The members of an autosome pair in a diploid cell have the same morphology, unlike those in allosomal (sex chromosome) pairs, which may have different structures. The DNA in autosome ...

recessive In genetics, dominance is the phenomenon of one variant (allele) of a gene on a chromosome masking or overriding the effect of a different variant of the same gene on the other copy of the chromosome. The first variant is termed dominant and ...

inheritance involving the ''

ADAMTS10 A disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs 10 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''ADAMTS10'' gene. This gene belongs to the ADAMTS (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain with thrombospondin type-1 motifs) fami ...

'' gene, or

dominant inheritance involving the ''

FBN1 Fibrillin-1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''FBN1'' gene, located on chromosome 15. It is a large, extracellular matrix glycoprotein that serves as a structural component of 10–12 nm calcium-binding microfibrils. These micro ...

'' gene. In some cases there is no association with either of these genes.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis is made when several characteristic clinical signs are observed. There is no single test to confirm the presence of Weill–Marchesani syndrome. Exploring family history or examining other family members may prove helpful in confirming this diagnosis.

Treatment

Eye

surgery Surgery is a medical specialty that uses manual and instrumental techniques to diagnose or treat pathological conditions (e.g., trauma, disease, injury, malignancy), to alter bodily functions (e.g., malabsorption created by bariatric surgery s ...

has been documented to help those with ocular diseases, such as some forms of

glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that can lead to damage of the optic nerve. The optic nerve transmits visual information from the eye to the brain. Glaucoma may cause vision loss if left untreated. It has been called the "silent thief of ...

Prognosis

However, long term medical management of glaucoma has not proven to be successful for patients with Weill–Marchesani syndrome. Physical therapy and orthopedic treatments are generally prescribed for problems stemming from mobility from this connective tissue disorder. However, this disorder has no cure, and generally, treatments are given to improve quality of life.

References

External links

GeneReviews/NCBI/NIH/UW entry on Weill-Marchesani Syndrome
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weill-Marchesani Syndrome Cytoskeletal defects Syndromes Eye diseases Rare syndromes

Diagnosis

Treatment

Prognosis

See also

References

External links