Hadju-Cheney syndrome. Report of a non-familial case

The case of a 24-year-old man with Hadju-Cheney syndrome is reported. No similar disease occurred in his family. Inverted and bullous tips of fingers were noted at age 9 and protruded occipital bone at age 10. He complained on left facial spasm and facial tics for 1 year. Examination revealed a man of short stature, with a brachycephalic skull and hypertelorism. Radiologically there was an extreme degree of basilar impression with the basal angle of 180 degrees, demineralized spinal vertebrae, and acro-osteolysis. Both bone and CT scans demonstrated the abnormalities of the skull clearly. The basilar artery ran almost horizontally on angiography. He gradually deteriorated neurologically with bulbar, pyramidal and cerebellar signs and symptoms. Review of the literature revealed at least ten non-familial and nine familial cases of this disorder. It is considered that this syndrome is a genetically determined generalized dysplastic bone disorder.