Cockayne syndrome in a family

Cockayne syndrome is one of the families of rare progeroid syndromes. We report on two female siblings suffering from Cockayne syndrome. At birth, they both appeared normal, although both demonstrated a low birth weight and breech presentation. The first-born child died at the age of eight months with associated contracted limbs, brain calcification, and photosensitivity. The younger sibling exhibited short stature, microcephaly, a beaked nose and malformed ears, spasticity, photosensitivity, pigmented degeneration of the retina, and psychomotor retardation at the age of six years. Intracranial calcification and the absence of a brain stem-evoked potential were also noted. Testing her skin fibroblasts, which showed a moderate UV sensitivity and a severe deficiency of transcription-coupled repair established the diagnosis of Cockayne syndrome. Genetic counseling was offered for the family.