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Growth in neurofibromatosis 1 microdeletion patients
Author(s) -
Ning X.,
Farschtschi S.,
Jones A.,
KehrerSawatzki H.,
Mautner V.F.,
Friedman J. M.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
clinical genetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.543
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1399-0004
pISSN - 0009-9163
DOI - 10.1111/cge.12632
Subject(s) - neurofibromatosis , microdeletion syndrome , medicine , genetics , biology , phenotype , gene
Microdeletions of the entire NF1 gene and surrounding genomic region occur in about 5% of patients with neurofibromatosis 1 ( NF1 ). NF1 microdeletion patients usually have more cutaneous and plexiform neurofibromas and a higher risk of developing malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors than other people with NF1 . Somatic overgrowth has also been observed in NF1 microdeletion patients, an observation that is remarkable because most NF1 patients are smaller than average for age and sex. We studied longitudinal measurements of height, weight, and head circumference in 56 patients with NF1 microdeletions and 226 NF1 patients with other kinds of mutations. Although children with NF1 microdeletions were much taller than non‐deletion NF1 patients at all ages after 2 years, the lengths of deletion and nondeletion NF1 patients were similar in early infancy. NF1 microdeletion patients tended to be heavier than other NF1 patients, but height or weight more than 3 standard deviations above the mean for age and sex was infrequent in children with NF1 microdeletions. Head circumference and age of puberty were similar in deletion and non‐deletion NF1 patients. The pattern of growth differs substantially in deletion and non‐deletion NF1 patients, but the pathogenic basis for this difference is unknown.