A rare combination of monogenic connective tissue diseases — Marfan and Stickler syndromes — in one patient

Abstract

As DNA sequencing techniques have been used more widely in clinical practice, there have been reports of a combination of hereditary diseases in a single patient. Cases of combining diseases with similar clinical symptoms present a particular difficulty for diagnosis. We observe a child who has been identified to have a combination of autosomal dominant diseases associated with connective tissue involvement — Marfan and Stickler type 1 syndromes. Common symptoms of both diseases were as follows: marfanoid habitus, arachnodactyly, kyphoscoliosis, chest deformity, involvement in the process of joints (hypermobile syndrome) and eyes. Marfan syndrome was evidenced by dissociation of mass-growth parameters at birth, tallstature, “Gothic” palate, crowded teeth, aortic dilation at the level of Valsalva sinuses and its ascending part. Type 1 Stickler syndrome was indicated by high-grade myopia, degenerative vitreous changes requiring vitrectomy, flat face, mandibular micrognathia, latent cleft of the soft and hard palate, grade 1 bilateral conductive hearing loss, mild cognitive failure. The diagnosis of both diseases was confirmed by the detection of de novo heterozygous mutations in the FBN1 gene (c.5060_5061 delGCinvAA, p. Cys1687) and COL2A1 gene (c.4074+1G>A). Establishing a final diagnosis is of great importance for predicting the course of the disease and genetic counseling of the proband and their relatives.