Characterization of an interstitial deletion 6q13-q14.1 in a female with mild mental retardation, language delay and minor dysmorphisms

Chromosomal imbalances, recognized as the major cause of mental retardation (MR), are often due to submicroscopic deletions or duplications not evidenced by conventional cytogenetic methods. Array-based comparative genomic hybridization (array-CGH) improves considerably the detection rate of submicroscopic chromosomal abnormalities and has proven to be an effective tool for detection of submicroscopic chromosome abnormalities in children with MR and/or multiple congenital defects. Observations of array-CGH deletions in defined chromosomal regions linked to a clinical phenotype will more and more allow to define genotype-phenotype correlations. We report here the case of a 10-year-old female with a de novo 7.8 Mb deletion in the 6q13-6q14.1 ascertained by array-CGH. The clinical features of this patient include psychomotor and language delay associated with minor dysmorphic features.