Prefumo Federico, Homfray Tessa, Jeffrey Iona, Moore Isabella, Thilaganathan Baskaran
Fetal Medicine Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, St. George's Hospital Medical School, London, United Kingdom.
Am J Med Genet A. 2003 Jul 30;120A(3):386-8. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.a.20097.
We describe three cases of a severe malformation syndrome in siblings of both sexes. The characteristic features observed were absent intrauterine ossification of an apparently normal cartilaginous spinal column; rib abnormalities, with unossified segments and posterior gaps; thoracic hypoplasia; and multiple intralobar nephrogenic rests in the kidneys. This syndrome can be identified in early pregnancy by ultrasound scans due to the lack of ossification of the thoraco-lumbar spine and its association with increased nuchal translucency thickness. We suggest that this is a newly recognized autosomal recessive syndrome.