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We have recently observed a large pedigree with a new rare autosomal dominant spastic paraparesis. In three subsequent generations, 13 affected individuals presented with bilateral cataracts, gastroesophageal reflux with persistent vomiting, and spastic paraparesis with amyotrophy. Bilateral cataracts occurred in all affected individuals, with the exception of one patient who presented with a chorioretinal dystrophy, whereas clinical signs of spastic paraparesis showed a variable expressivity. Using a genomewide mapping approach, we mapped the disorder to the long arm of chromosome 10 on band q23.3-q24.2, in a 12-cM chromosomal region where additional neurologic disorders have been localized. The spectrum of phenotypic manifestations in this family is reminiscent of a smaller pedigree, reported recently, confirming the possibility of a new syndrome. Finally, the anticipation of symptoms suggests that an unstable trinucleotide repeat may be responsible for the condition.

We describe a girl with midline defects and distal limb anomalies, who had a supernumerary der(22) syndrome. The presence of some anomalies identifying the midline defects, led us to review all patients reported up to now, with interesting results. We point out the particular finding of midline defects in CNS only, in patients studied by autopsy or neuroradiologic imaging.

Roberts syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive condition characterized by growth retardation, cranio-facial abnormalities and symmetrical limb reduction of variable severity. Most patients with Roberts syndrome show a typical cytogenetic finding known as "Roberts syndrome effect". We describe a 4-month-old patient with a mild form of this syndrome, who presented with an asymmetrical reduction of the right upper limb.

In this report, we describe a male infant with a 45,X karyotype; the entire short arm and the centromere of the Y chromosome were translocated onto the short arm of chromosome 18, resulting in an unbalanced dicentric chromosome. Breakpoints were identified by in situ fluorescence hybridization (FISH) on the proximal Yq11 and 18p11.2. Both Y and 18 centromeric alphoid sequences were identified on the derived 18 chromosome. Clinical features were compatible with 18p- syndrome and no Turner stigmata were present in our propositus. Short stature was likely to be related to the deletion of 18p and/or Yq, where a gene involved in stature determination has been located proximal to a gene involved in spermatogenesis (AZF).