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Start free with EleplanArthrogryposis multiplex congenita-whistling face syndrome
ORPHA:1150Malformation syndrome
Also called Illum syndrome
What it is
An extremely rare type of arthrogryposis multiplex congenita characterized by the combination of multiple joint contractures with movement limitation, microstomia with a whistling appearance of the mouth that may cause feeding, swallowing, and speech difficulties, a distinctive expressionless facies, severe developmental delay, central and autonomous nervous system dysfunction (excessive salivation, temperature instability, myoclonic epileptic fits, bradycardia), occasionally Pierre-Robin sequence, and lethality generally occurring during the first months of life. Arthrogryposis multiplex congenita-whistling face syndrome has been suggested to be a fetal akinesia deformation sequence.
Key facts
- Prevalence
- <1 / 1 000 000
- Age of onset
- Antenatal, Neonatal
- Inheritance
- Autosomal recessive
- Classified as
- Malformation syndrome
Prevalence figures describe populations, not individuals, and are often estimates from a single study. Where the figure is an incidence or a birth prevalence, it says so.
Signs and symptoms
Very common80–99%
14These ranges are how often a sign appears across everyone diagnosed, not a prediction for one person — most people have some of these and not others. Orphanet also records findings that are specifically absent in this disease; those are in the data but not listed here.
ICD-10 codes
ICD-10 has no distinct code for most rare diseases, so many are filed under the nearest available one. A shared code identifies the group, not this disease — the ORPHAcode above is what identifies it.
Related health topics
Reached through the ICD-10 categories this disease is filed under, so these describe the broader group rather than this disease specifically.
Cross-references
Orphadata Science: Free access data from Orphanet. © INSERM 1999. Data version 2026-06-23. Available under CC BY 4.0. This is a reference, not medical advice.
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