Spectrum of Movement Disorders in 18p Deletion Syndrome

Deletion of the short arm of chromosome 18 leads to 18p deletion syndrome. Clinical features include short stature, facial dysmorphism, mental retardation, and several types of movement disorders.

The 18p deletion syndrome in our patient was diagnosed using karyotype analysis and confirmed by genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism array. We have performed a literature search and summarized all previously reported patients with 18p deletion syndrome and movement disorders.

We present a 41-year-old male patient with childhood-onset generalized dystonia. Dystonia is the most prevalent movement disorder in 18p deletion patients, with onset ranging from childhood to adulthood. Chorea, myoclonus, tremor, tics, and ataxia have been reported in a minority of these patients.

Dystonia is commonly observed in 18p deletion syndrome. The variable size of the deletion on 18p is probably responsible for the broad phenotypic variability of movement disorders in this syndrome.