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Neurodegeneration, childhood-onset, with progressive microcephaly(CONPM)

MedGen UID:
1801540
Concept ID:
C5676972
Disease or Syndrome
Synonym: CONPM
 
Gene (location): DTYMK (2q37.3)
 
Monarch Initiative: MONDO:0859241
OMIM®: 619847

Definition

Childhood-onset neurodegeneration with progressive microcephaly (CONPM) is an autosomal recessive neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by global developmental delay apparent from infancy. The phenotype is highly variable: the most severely affected individuals have severe and progressive microcephaly, early-onset seizures, lack of visual tracking, and almost no developmental milestones, resulting in early death. Less severely affected individuals have a small head circumference and severely impaired intellectual development with poor speech and motor delay. Additional features may include poor overall growth, axial hypotonia, limb hypertonia with spasticity, undescended testes, and cerebral atrophy with neuronal loss (Lam et al., 2019 and Vanoevelen et al., 2022). [from OMIM]

Clinical features

From HPO
Cryptorchidism
MedGen UID:
8192
Concept ID:
C0010417
Congenital Abnormality
Cryptorchidism, or failure of testicular descent, is a common human congenital abnormality with a multifactorial etiology that likely reflects the involvement of endocrine, environmental, and hereditary factors. Cryptorchidism can result in infertility and increases risk for testicular tumors. Testicular descent from abdomen to scrotum occurs in 2 distinct phases: the transabdominal phase and the inguinoscrotal phase (summary by Gorlov et al., 2002).
Micropenis
MedGen UID:
1633603
Concept ID:
C4551492
Congenital Abnormality
Abnormally small penis. At birth, the normal penis is about 3 cm (stretched length from pubic tubercle to tip of penis) with micropenis less than 2.0-2.5 cm.
Small for gestational age
MedGen UID:
65920
Concept ID:
C0235991
Finding
Smaller than normal size according to sex and gestational age related norms, defined as a weight below the 10th percentile for the gestational age.
Short stature
MedGen UID:
87607
Concept ID:
C0349588
Finding
A height below that which is expected according to age and gender norms. Although there is no universally accepted definition of short stature, many refer to "short stature" as height more than 2 standard deviations below the mean for age and gender (or below the 3rd percentile for age and gender dependent norms).
Dysphagia
MedGen UID:
41440
Concept ID:
C0011168
Disease or Syndrome
Difficulty in swallowing.
Tube feeding
MedGen UID:
8641
Concept ID:
C0014327
Therapeutic or Preventive Procedure
Feeding problem necessitating food and nutrient delivery via a tube.
Feeding difficulties
MedGen UID:
65429
Concept ID:
C0232466
Finding
Impaired ability to eat related to problems gathering food and getting ready to suck, chew, or swallow it.
Sensorineural hearing loss disorder
MedGen UID:
9164
Concept ID:
C0018784
Disease or Syndrome
A type of hearing impairment in one or both ears related to an abnormal functionality of the cochlear nerve.
Cerebral palsy
MedGen UID:
854
Concept ID:
C0007789
Disease or Syndrome
Cerebral palsy describes a group of permanent disorders of the development of movement and posture, causing activity limitation, that are attributed to nonprogressive disturbances that occurred in the developing fetal or infant brain. The motor disorders of cerebral palsy are often accompanied by disturbances of sensation, perception, cognition, communication, and behavior, by epilepsy, and by secondary musculoskeletal problems.
Clonus
MedGen UID:
40341
Concept ID:
C0009024
Sign or Symptom
A series of rhythmic and involuntary muscle contractions (at a frequency of about 5 to 7 Hz) that occur in response to an abruptly applied and sustained stretch.
Febrile seizure (within the age range of 3 months to 6 years)
MedGen UID:
3232
Concept ID:
C0009952
Disease or Syndrome
A febrile seizure is any type of seizure (most often a generalized tonic-clonic seizure) occurring with fever (at least 38 degrees Celsius) but in the absence of central nervous system infection, severe metabolic disturbance or other alternative precipitant in children between the ages of 3 months and 6 years.
Gliosis
MedGen UID:
4899
Concept ID:
C0017639
Pathologic Function
Gliosis is the focal proliferation of glial cells in the central nervous system.
Spasticity
MedGen UID:
7753
Concept ID:
C0026838
Sign or Symptom
A motor disorder characterized by a velocity-dependent increase in tonic stretch reflexes with increased muscle tone, exaggerated (hyperexcitable) tendon reflexes.
Myoclonus
MedGen UID:
10234
Concept ID:
C0027066
Finding
Very brief, involuntary random muscular contractions occurring at rest, in response to sensory stimuli, or accompanying voluntary movements.
Babinski sign
MedGen UID:
19708
Concept ID:
C0034935
Finding
Upturning of the big toe (and sometimes fanning of the other toes) in response to stimulation of the sole of the foot. If the Babinski sign is present it can indicate damage to the corticospinal tract.
Seizure
MedGen UID:
20693
Concept ID:
C0036572
Sign or Symptom
A seizure is an intermittent abnormality of nervous system physiology characterized by a transient occurrence of signs and/or symptoms due to abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain.
Status epilepticus
MedGen UID:
11586
Concept ID:
C0038220
Disease or Syndrome
Status epilepticus is a type of prolonged seizure resulting either from the failure of the mechanisms responsible for seizure termination or from the initiation of mechanisms which lead to abnormally prolonged seizures (after time point t1). It is a condition that can have long-term consequences (after time point t2), including neuronal death, neuronal injury, and alteration of neuronal networks, depending on the type and duration of seizures.
Opisthotonus
MedGen UID:
56246
Concept ID:
C0151818
Sign or Symptom
Hyperreflexia
MedGen UID:
57738
Concept ID:
C0151889
Finding
Hyperreflexia is the presence of hyperactive stretch reflexes of the muscles.
Cerebral atrophy
MedGen UID:
116012
Concept ID:
C0235946
Disease or Syndrome
Atrophy (wasting, decrease in size of cells or tissue) affecting the cerebrum.
Spastic tetraplegia
MedGen UID:
98433
Concept ID:
C0426970
Disease or Syndrome
Spastic paralysis affecting all four limbs.
Global developmental delay
MedGen UID:
107838
Concept ID:
C0557874
Finding
A delay in the achievement of motor or mental milestones in the domains of development of a child, including motor skills, speech and language, cognitive skills, and social and emotional skills. This term should only be used to describe children younger than five years of age.
Limb dystonia
MedGen UID:
152944
Concept ID:
C0751093
Sign or Symptom
A type of dystonia (abnormally increased muscular tone causing fixed abnormal postures) that affects muscles of the limbs.
Developmental regression
MedGen UID:
324613
Concept ID:
C1836830
Disease or Syndrome
Loss of developmental skills, as manifested by loss of developmental milestones.
Widened subarachnoid space
MedGen UID:
375826
Concept ID:
C1846151
Finding
An increase in size of the anatomic space between the arachnoid membrane and pia mater.
Lateral ventricle dilatation
MedGen UID:
383904
Concept ID:
C1856409
Pathologic Function
Intellectual disability
MedGen UID:
811461
Concept ID:
C3714756
Mental or Behavioral Dysfunction
Intellectual disability, previously referred to as mental retardation, is characterized by subnormal intellectual functioning that occurs during the developmental period. It is defined by an IQ score below 70.
Hypertonia
MedGen UID:
10132
Concept ID:
C0026826
Finding
A condition in which there is increased muscle tone so that arms or legs, for example, are stiff and difficult to move.
Hypotonia
MedGen UID:
10133
Concept ID:
C0026827
Finding
Hypotonia is an abnormally low muscle tone (the amount of tension or resistance to movement in a muscle). Even when relaxed, muscles have a continuous and passive partial contraction which provides some resistance to passive stretching. Hypotonia thus manifests as diminished resistance to passive stretching. Hypotonia is not the same as muscle weakness, although the two conditions can co-exist.
Primary microcephaly
MedGen UID:
383046
Concept ID:
C2677180
Finding
Head circumference below 2 standard deviations below the mean for age and gender at birth.
Microcephaly
MedGen UID:
1644158
Concept ID:
C4551563
Finding
Head circumference below 2 standard deviations below the mean for age and gender.
Congenital laryngomalacia
MedGen UID:
120500
Concept ID:
C0264303
Anatomical Abnormality
Laryngomalacia is a congenital abnormality of the laryngeal cartilage in which the cartilage is floppy and prolapses over the larynx during inspiration.
Respiratory failure
MedGen UID:
257837
Concept ID:
C1145670
Disease or Syndrome
A severe form of respiratory insufficiency characterized by inadequate gas exchange such that the levels of oxygen or carbon dioxide cannot be maintained within normal limits.
Hyper-beta-alaninemia
MedGen UID:
75702
Concept ID:
C0268630
Disease or Syndrome
An increased concentration of alanine in the blood.
Increased circulating lactate concentration
MedGen UID:
332209
Concept ID:
C1836440
Finding
Abnormally increased level of blood lactate (2-hydroxypropanoic acid). Lactate is produced from pyruvate by lactate dehydrogenase during normal metabolism. The terms lactate and lactic acid are often used interchangeably but lactate (the component measured in blood) is strictly a weak base whereas lactic acid is the corresponding acid. Lactic acidosis is often used clinically to describe elevated lactate but should be reserved for cases where there is a corresponding acidosis (pH below 7.35).
Narrow forehead
MedGen UID:
326956
Concept ID:
C1839758
Finding
Width of the forehead or distance between the frontotemporales is more than two standard deviations below the mean (objective); or apparently narrow intertemporal region (subjective).
Full cheeks
MedGen UID:
355661
Concept ID:
C1866231
Finding
Increased prominence or roundness of soft tissues between zygomata and mandible.
Breech presentation
MedGen UID:
654
Concept ID:
C0006157
Pathologic Function
A position of the fetus at delivery in which the fetus enters the birth canal with the buttocks or feet first.
Polyhydramnios
MedGen UID:
6936
Concept ID:
C0020224
Pathologic Function
The presence of excess amniotic fluid in the uterus during pregnancy.
Cerebral visual impairment
MedGen UID:
890568
Concept ID:
C4048268
Pathologic Function
A form of loss of vision caused by damage to the visual cortex rather than a defect in the eye.

Recent clinical studies

Etiology

Ebrahimi-Fakhari D, Teinert J, Behne R, Wimmer M, D'Amore A, Eberhardt K, Brechmann B, Ziegler M, Jensen DM, Nagabhyrava P, Geisel G, Carmody E, Shamshad U, Dies KA, Yuskaitis CJ, Salussolia CL, Ebrahimi-Fakhari D, Pearson TS, Saffari A, Ziegler A, Kölker S, Volkmann J, Wiesener A, Bearden DR, Lakhani S, Segal D, Udwadia-Hegde A, Martinuzzi A, Hirst J, Perlman S, Takiyama Y, Xiromerisiou G, Vill K, Walker WO, Shukla A, Dubey Gupta R, Dahl N, Aksoy A, Verhelst H, Delgado MR, Kremlikova Pourova R, Sadek AA, Elkhateeb NM, Blumkin L, Brea-Fernández AJ, Dacruz-Álvarez D, Smol T, Ghoumid J, Miguel D, Heine C, Schlump JU, Langen H, Baets J, Bulk S, Darvish H, Bakhtiari S, Kruer MC, Lim-Melia E, Aydinli N, Alanay Y, El-Rashidy O, Nampoothiri S, Patel C, Beetz C, Bauer P, Yoon G, Guillot M, Miller SP, Bourinaris T, Houlden H, Robelin L, Anheim M, Alamri AS, Mahmoud AAH, Inaloo S, Habibzadeh P, Faghihi MA, Jansen AC, Brock S, Roubertie A, Darras BT, Agrawal PB, Santorelli FM, Gleeson J, Zaki MS, Sheikh SI, Bennett JT, Sahin M
Brain 2020 Oct 1;143(10):2929-2944. doi: 10.1093/brain/awz307. PMID: 32979048Free PMC Article

Diagnosis

Ebrahimi-Fakhari D, Teinert J, Behne R, Wimmer M, D'Amore A, Eberhardt K, Brechmann B, Ziegler M, Jensen DM, Nagabhyrava P, Geisel G, Carmody E, Shamshad U, Dies KA, Yuskaitis CJ, Salussolia CL, Ebrahimi-Fakhari D, Pearson TS, Saffari A, Ziegler A, Kölker S, Volkmann J, Wiesener A, Bearden DR, Lakhani S, Segal D, Udwadia-Hegde A, Martinuzzi A, Hirst J, Perlman S, Takiyama Y, Xiromerisiou G, Vill K, Walker WO, Shukla A, Dubey Gupta R, Dahl N, Aksoy A, Verhelst H, Delgado MR, Kremlikova Pourova R, Sadek AA, Elkhateeb NM, Blumkin L, Brea-Fernández AJ, Dacruz-Álvarez D, Smol T, Ghoumid J, Miguel D, Heine C, Schlump JU, Langen H, Baets J, Bulk S, Darvish H, Bakhtiari S, Kruer MC, Lim-Melia E, Aydinli N, Alanay Y, El-Rashidy O, Nampoothiri S, Patel C, Beetz C, Bauer P, Yoon G, Guillot M, Miller SP, Bourinaris T, Houlden H, Robelin L, Anheim M, Alamri AS, Mahmoud AAH, Inaloo S, Habibzadeh P, Faghihi MA, Jansen AC, Brock S, Roubertie A, Darras BT, Agrawal PB, Santorelli FM, Gleeson J, Zaki MS, Sheikh SI, Bennett JT, Sahin M
Brain 2020 Oct 1;143(10):2929-2944. doi: 10.1093/brain/awz307. PMID: 32979048Free PMC Article

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