Baraitser-Winter cerebrofrontofacial syndrome: Report of two adult siblings

Baraitser-Winter cerebrofrontofacial syndrome (BWCS) is a rare, autosomal dominant condition that is characterized by intellectual disability, distinctive craniofacial features, structural brain abnormalities, seizures, microcephaly, hearing loss, and ocular colobomas. The first three cases were described in 1988 by Baraitser and Winter and included two siblings and an unrelated third patient. Subsequently, causative missense variants in the ACTB and ACTG1 genes were identified, with de novo occurrence in patients with the condition. Herein, we describe two adult siblings who were born to unaffected parents and who were diagnosed with BWCS in their fourth and sixth decade of life following exome sequencing performed for intellectual disability. We review the literature reports of adult patients with BWCS to document the clinical features and phenotypic variability that can occur later in life. This is the first molecularly confirmed report of germline mosaicism in BWCS and one of only a few reports to describe two BWCS patients belonging to the same family.

Keywords: ACTB; ACTG1; Baraitser-Winter cerebrofrontofacial syndrome; syndromes in adults.