Seckel Syndrome (SS) is a rare form of primordial autosomal recessive dwarfism involving multiple malformations. The major characteristic features of SS are intrauterine and postnatal growth deficiency, severe microcephaly, craniofacial dysmorphism which includes characteristic ‘Bird-headed’ appearance, prominent nose, sloped forehead, receding jaw, low-set ears with hypoplastic lobules and lar...

Basonuclin 2 is a recently discovered zinc finger protein of unknown function. Its paralog, basonuclin 1, is associated with the ability of keratinocytes to multiply. The basonuclin zinc fingers are closely related to those of the Drosophila proteins disco and discorelated, but the relation between disco proteins and basonuclins has remained elusive because the function of the disco proteins in...

BACKGROUND We report a female patient with endocrine abnormalities, hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and amazia (breasts aplasia/hypoplasia but normal nipples and areolas) in a rare syndrome: Van Maldergem syndrome (VMS). CASE PRESENTATION Our patient was first evaluated at age 4 for intellectual disability, craniofacial features, and auditory malformations. At age 15, she presented with no brea...

Neural crest cells are a migratory cell population that give rise to the majority of the cartilage, bone, connective tissue, and sensory ganglia in the head. Abnormalities in the formation, proliferation, migration, and differentiation phases of the neural crest cell life cycle can lead to craniofacial malformations, which constitute one-third of all congenital birth defects. Treacher Collins s...

X-linked hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (XLHED) is a genetic disorder due to a mutation of the EDA gene and is mainly characterized by an impaired formation of hair, teeth and sweat glands, and craniofacial dysmorphologies. Although tooth abnormalities in Tabby (Ta) mutant mice - the murine model of XLHED - have been extensively studied, characterization of the craniofacial complex, and more...

Prenatal exposure to alcohol (ethanol) results in a continuum of physical and neurological developmental abnormalities that vary depending on the timing, duration, and degree of alcohol exposure. Heavy exposure during development may lead to the condition Fetal Alcohol Syndrome [6] (FAS), characterized by growth deficits, neurological deficiencies and minor facial abnormalities. Alcohol is a kn...

The causal relation between anatomical variations of the nose and headaches and facial pain is analyzed through literature review of the topic. The pathogenesis that can be involved in this relation proves to be wider than simple alteration of nasal septum and turbinates that can cause mechanical stimulus through contact between these structures, which covers infectious factors, neurogenic infl...

Six genes are widely expressed during vertebrate embryogenesis, suggesting that they are implicated in diverse differentiation processes. To determine the functions of the Six1 gene, we constructed Six1-deficient mice by replacing its first exon by the beta-galactosidase gene. We have previously shown that mice lacking Six1 die at birth due to thoracic skeletal defects and severe muscle hypopla...

Connexin(Cx)43 is the major gap junction protein present in osteoblasts. We have shown that overexpression of Cx45 in osteoblasts expressing endogenous Cx43 leads to decreased cell-cell communication (Koval, M., S.T. Geist, E.M. Westphale, A.E. Kemendy, R. Civitelli, E.C. Beyer, and T.H. Steinberg. 1995. J. Cell Biol. 130:987-995) and transcriptional downregulation of several osteoblastic diffe...

Prenatal exposure to alcohol (ethanol) results in a continuum of physical and neurological developmental abnormalities that vary depending on the timing, duration, and degree of alcohol exposure. Heavy exposure during development may lead to the condition Fetal Alcohol Syndrome [6] (FAS), characterized by growth deficits, neurological deficiencies and minor facial abnormalities. Alcohol is a kn...