Clinical Description
3q29 recurrent deletion is characterized by neurodevelopmental and/or psychiatric manifestations. Other common findings are failure to thrive, feeding problems, gastrointestinal disorders, ocular issues, dental anomalies, and congenital heart defects. To date more than 200 affected individuals have been identified. The summary below is based on the comprehensive review of all reported individuals in Cox & Butler [2015], the self-reported findings in 44 individuals from the 3q29 Deletion Registry [Glassford et al 2016], and deep phenotyping of 32 individuals [Sanchez Russo et al 2021].
Table 2.
3q29 Recurrent Deletion: Frequency of Select Features
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Feature | % of Persons w/Feature | Comment |
---|
DD
| 70%-90% | Speech delay (60%), motor delay |
ID
| 30%-40% | Mild to moderate (34%), severe (<5%) |
ADHD
| 63% | |
Anxiety disorders
| 40% | Generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety, social anxiety disorder, specific phobias |
ASD
| 38% | |
Executive function
deficits
| 46% | |
Graphomotor
weakness
| 78% | |
Psychosis/
Schizophrenia
| >20% | %s based on a small sample of young persons still at risk for these manifestations; prevalence is likely higher. |
Musculoskeletal
concerns
| 84% | Chest deformities (41%) |
GI issues /
Nutrition & feeding
| >80% | Pediatric feeding disorder (60%), gastroesophageal reflux (50%), failure to thrive (44%), constipation (41%) |
Ocular phenotypes
| 59% | Strabismus (28%) |
Dental anomalies
| 41% | |
Allergies
| 28% | |
Congenital heart
defects
| 25% | |
Recurrent ear
infections
| 22% | |
Epistaxis
| 22% | May require surgical mgmt. Additional bleeding disorders have not been reported to date. |
Enuresis
| 22% | Cause is unknown to date. |
Sleep disturbance
| 31% | Reported in persons of all ages |
Posterior fossa
abnormalities on
brain MRI
| 71% | Cerebellar vermis hypoplasia (33%), retrocerebellar arachnoid cyst (29%) |
ADHD = attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; ASD = autism spectrum disorder; DD = developmental delay; GI = gastrointestinal; ID = intellectual disability
Developmental delay. Developmental milestones are delayed between six to twelve months.
Speech delay is reported in 60% of individuals. Speaking single words occurs at an average age of 23 months. Receptive language delay is reported in 33% and verbal apraxia (a motor speech disorder) is reported in 19%. Dysphasia/aphasia is reported in 10%. Only one of 44 individuals reported to have the 3q29 deletion is completely nonverbal [Glassford et al 2016].
Motor delay. Hypotonia is reported in 34% during the first year of life. Independent walking is usually achieved at age 20 months. Despite cerebellar anomalies observed on MRI, no pronounced ataxia or gait abnormalities are observed [Sanchez Russo et al 2021].
Cognitive issues. Children with the 3q29 deletion show a range of intellectual ability, with approximately 34% having mild-to-moderate intellectual disability (ID). Fewer than 5% have severe ID. IQ measures reveal a wide differential between subtest scores, with on average a 14-point absolute difference between verbal and nonverbal IQ subtest scores. Although speech delay is common in individuals with the 3q29 recurrent deletion, among individuals age six years and older, 61% have a verbal subtest score that is higher than their nonverbal subtest score (see medRxiv). Sixty-six percent of children with the 3q29 recurrent deletion have IQ scores within the normal range; however, these individuals may have substantial neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disability that is not captured by IQ measures.
Neuropsychiatric disorders
ASD (38%). Individuals with the 3q29 recurrent deletion without a diagnosis of autism may exhibit social disability [
Pollak et al 2019].
Anxiety disorder (40%)
ADHD (63%)
Bipolar disorder (5%)
Individuals with the 3q29 recurrent deletion may exhibit more than one neuropsychiatric disorder. For example, roughly 50% of individuals with the 3q29 deletion and ASD also report an anxiety disorder.
The age at onset for psychosis or prodrome can be younger than the typical age at onset in the general population. Early-onset psychosis was reported in one boy age five years [Sagar et al 2013] and one girl age ten years with the 3q29 deletion [Quintero-Rivera et al 2010]. Murphy et al [2020] reported attenuated psychosis syndrome in a boy age eight years. The average age of onset for schizophrenia and psychosis in the general population is 20-25 years.
Executive function deficits. Executive function, or the higher-order cognitive processes that regulate planning, decision making, and goal-oriented behavior, are substantially impaired in nearly half of individuals with the 3q29 recurrent deletion.
Graphomotor weakness. Graphomotor skills, or the skills required for writing and other fine-motor tasks, are substantially impaired in most individuals with the 3q29 recurrent deletion and can lead to difficulties in language learning and literacy. If not recognized, graphomotor weakness will present challenges in educational settings.
Seizures occur in 13% of reported individuals and are generally mild and respond to standard anti-seizure treatment. Seizures may be atonic (3%), febrile (6%), nocturnal (3%), or unspecified (3%).
Musculoskeletal anomalies include chest deformities such as pectus excavatum (25%) and pectus carinatum (9%). There is elevated prevalence of scoliosis (6%). Lower-extremity anomalies are reported in 72%, including abnormal toes (28%), medial rotation of the medial malleolus (31%), and pes planus (31%). Upper-extremity anomalies are reported in 47%, such as long, thin fingers (25%) and abnormal palmar creases (9%).
Gastrointestinal issues. Pediatric feeding problems are present in 60% and failure to thrive in 44%, sometimes necessitating feeding by gastrostomy tube (see medRxiv). Additional gastrointestinal issues include gastroesophageal reflux disease (50%), chronic constipation (41%), dysphagia (12%), hiatal hernia (5%), and chronic diarrhea (5%).
Ocular anomalies include astigmatism, hypermetropia, myopia, and strabismus. Strabismus is present in 28% of individuals with the 3q29 deletion; of these, approximately 30% require surgical correction.
Dental anomalies include dental caries (24%), weak tooth enamel (19%), enamel hypoplasia (10%), and missing teeth (5%). Abnormal dental spacing is also reported with crowded teeth (24%), widely spaced teeth (17%), and diastema between the central incisors (12%). Abnormally large teeth in reported in 10%, and abnormally small teeth in 7%.
Allergies include seasonal allergies (16%) and food allergies (13%). Rarely, individuals report drug allergies (3%). Immunoglobulin (Ig) deficiencies including IgA deficiency (3%) and IgG deficiency (3%) have been reported.
Congenital heart defects include patent ductus arteriosus (12%), ventricular septal defect (5%), and pulmonary valvar stenosis (5%).
Craniofacial features. Systematic characterization of craniofacial features on a cohort of 31 individuals with the 3q29 recurrent deletion showed a subtle but seemingly non-random pattern of craniofacial findings [Mak et al 2021]. Dysmorphic features were seen in the vast majority of individuals. The most common findings included prominent forehead and wide nose in almost half of individuals, prominent nasal tip in approximately 35%, and thin vermilion of the upper lip in approximately 25% of individuals. Other common findings include low-hanging columella (23%), prominent nasal bridge (23%), and incisor macrodontia (23%). Phenotyping technology (Face2gene), successfully differentiated between an individual with the 3q29 deletion and a control individual 87.3% of the time (p-value of 0.006).