Microcephaly with simplified gyral pattern in six related children

We describe clinical and neurophysiological findings in six related children with congenital microcephaly, seizures that began within the first 2-4 months of life, and severe mental retardation (MR). These affected children (five girls and one boy), born to two women who are half-sisters, inherited the disease as an autosomal recessive trait. Physical examination of these children did not show any of the anomalies in the known cortical malformation syndromes such as lissencephaly types I and II. Neuroradiological studies in these children documented microcephaly and a simplified gyral pattern with no pachygyria. Chromosomal analysis showed neither karyotypic abnormalities nor a microdeletion at 17p13.3, site of the lissencephaly type I gene locus (LIS1). Genetic studies failed to show linkage of this family to LIS1, LIS2 (a region on chromosome 2p homologous to LIS1), or MCPH1 (a locus for primary autosomal recessive microcephaly). The unique clinical and genetic findings in this family suggest that these children may be affected by an as-of-yet unmapped neuronal proliferation disorder.