Hypotonia is a state of low muscle tone, often involving reduced muscle strength. Hypotonia is not a specific medical disorder, but a potential manifestation of many different diseases and disorders that affect motor nerve control by the brain or muscle strength. Hypotonia is a lack of resistance to passive movement, whereas muscle weakness results in impaired active movement. Central hypotonia originates from the central nervous system, while peripheral hypotonia is related to problems within the spinal cord, peripheral nerves and/or skeletal muscles. Severe hypotonia in infancy is commonly known as floppy baby syndrome. Recognizing hypotonia, even in early infancy, is usually relatively straightforward, but diagnosing the underlying cause can be difficult and often unsuccessful. The long-term effects of hypotonia on a child's development and later life depend primarily on the severity of the muscle weakness and the nature of the cause. Some disorders have a specific treatment but the principal treatment for most hypotonia of idiopathic or neurologic cause is physical therapy and/or occupational therapy for remediation.
2-hydroxyglutaric aciduria is a rare neurometabolic disorder characterized by the significantly elevated levels of hydroxyglutaric acid in one's urine. It is either autosomal recessive or autosomal dominant.
Glycine encephalopathy is a rare autosomal recessive disorder of glycine metabolism. After phenylketonuria, glycine encephalopathy is the second most common disorder of amino acid metabolism. The disease is caused by defects in the glycine cleavage system, an enzyme responsible for glycine catabolism. There are several forms of the disease, with varying severity of symptoms and time of onset. The symptoms are exclusively neurological in nature, and clinically this disorder is characterized by abnormally high levels of the amino acid glycine in bodily fluids and tissues, especially the cerebrospinal fluid.
CDKL5 is a gene that provides instructions for making a protein called cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 also known as serine/threonine kinase 9 (STK9) that is essential for normal brain development. Mutations in the gene can cause deficiencies in the protein. The gene regulates neuronal morphology through cytoplasmic signaling and controlling gene expression. The CDKL5 protein acts as a kinase, which is an enzyme that changes the activity of other proteins by adding a cluster of oxygen and phosphorus atoms at specific positions. Researchers are currently working to determine which proteins are targeted by the CDKL5 protein.
Weaver syndrome is an extremely rare autosomal dominant genetic disorder associated with rapid growth beginning in the prenatal period and continuing through the toddler and youth years. It is characterized by advanced osseous maturation and distinctive craniofacial, skeletal and neurological abnormalities. It is similar to Sotos syndrome and is classified as an overgrowth syndrome.
Pur-alpha is a protein that in humans is encoded by the PURA gene located at chromosome 5, band q31.
Epilepsy-intellectual disability in females also known as PCDH19 gene-related epilepsy or epileptic encephalopathy, early infantile, 9 (EIEE9), is a rare type of epilepsy that affects predominately females and is characterized by clusters of brief seizures, which start in infancy or early childhood, and is occasionally accompanied by varying degrees of cognitive impairment. The striking pattern of onset seizures at a young age, genetic testing and laboratory results, potential developmental delays or developmental regression and associated disorders, eases diagnosis.
Kohlschütter–Tönz syndrome (KTS), also called amelo-cerebro-hypohidrotic syndrome, is a rare inherited syndrome characterized by epilepsy, psychomotor delay or regression, intellectual disability, and yellow teeth caused by amelogenesis imperfecta. It is a type A ectodermal dysplasia.
Mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome, or Alper's disease, is any of a group of autosomal recessive disorders that cause a significant drop in mitochondrial DNA in affected tissues. Symptoms can be any combination of myopathic, hepatopathic, or encephalomyopathic. These syndromes affect tissue in the muscle, liver, or both the muscle and brain, respectively. The condition is typically fatal in infancy and early childhood, though some have survived to their teenage years with the myopathic variant and some have survived into adulthood with the SUCLA2 encephalomyopathic variant. There is currently no curative treatment for any form of MDDS, though some preliminary treatments have shown a reduction in symptoms.
Okamoto syndrome (OS), also known as Au–Kline syndrome (AKS), is a very rare autosomal dominant genetic condition characterised by congenital hydronephrosis, low muscle tone, heart defects, intellectual disability and characteristic facial features. Those affected often have neurological and skeletal abnormalities, as well as frequent urinary tract infections. Language and walking are usually delayed. Facial features include prominent, downturned ears, an open, downturned mouth and drooping eyelids (ptosis).
Barakat-Perenthaler syndrome is a rare neurodevelopmental genetic disorder, presenting with a severe epileptic encephalopathy, developmental delay, Intellectual disability, progressive microcephaly and visual disturbance. It is listed by the standard reference, Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) as #618744. and classified as EPILEPTIC ENCEPHALOPATHY, EARLY INFANTILE, 83; EIEE83. It was first described in 2019 by Dr. Stefan Barakat and his team at the Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam in the journal Acta Neuropathologica; the most recent reviews were published in Epilepsy Currents. and Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism
SYNGAP1-related intellectual disability is a monogenetic developmental and epileptic encephalopathy that affects the central nervous system. Symptoms include intellectual disability, epilepsy, autism, sensory processing deficits, hypotonia and unstable gait.
17q12 microdeletion syndrome, also known as 17q12 deletion syndrome, is a rare chromosomal anomaly caused by the deletion of a small amount of material from a region in the long arm of chromosome 17. It is typified by deletion of the HNF1B gene, resulting in kidney abnormalities and renal cysts and diabetes syndrome. It also has neurocognitive effects, and has been implicated as a genetic factor for autism and schizophrenia.
CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD) is a rare genetic disorder caused by pathogenic variants in the gene CDKL5.
FBXW7 neurodevelopmental syndrome is a newly discovered genetic disorder which is characterized by gastrointestinal, brain, and muscle anomalies accompanied by intellectual disabilities and developmental delays.
CHAMP1-associated intellectual disability syndrome, also known as autosomal dominant intellectual disability type 40, is a rare genetic disorder characterized by intellectual disabilities, developmental delays, facial dysmorphisms, and other anomalies.
GRIN2B-related neurodevelopmental disorder is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder which is characterized by developmental delays and intellectual disabilities of variable degrees, muscle tone anomalies, feeding difficulties, and behavioral problems.
SLC13A5 citrate transporter disorder, or SLC13A5 Epilepsy, is a rare genetic spectrum disorder that presents with neurological symptoms. Symptoms include severe seizures, ataxia, dystonia, teeth hypoplasia, poor communication skills, difficulty standing or walking, as well as developmental delay. Other names associated with SLC13A5 Epilepsy include SLC13A5 Citrate Transporter Disorder, Citrate Transporter Disorder, SLC13A5 Deficiency, Early Infantile Epilepsy Encephalopathy 25 (EIEE25), Developmental Epilepsy Encephalopathy 25 (DEE25), and Kohlschutter-Tonz Syndrome (non-ROGDI).
TRPM3-related neurodevelopmental disorder is a monogenetic developmental and epileptic encephalopathy that affects the central nervous system. The broad phenotype includes global developmental delay, intellectual disability, epilepsy, musculoskeletal anomalies, altered pain perception, ataxia, hypotonia, nystagmus, and cerebellar atrophy.
16p11.2 deletion syndrome is a rare genetic condition caused by microdeletion on the short arm of chromosome 16. Most affected individuals experience global developmental delay and intellectual disability, as well as childhood-onset obesity. 16p11.2 deletion is estimated to account for approximately 1% of autism spectrum disorder cases.
