Emery-Nelson syndrome

What it is

A rare congenital limb malformation syndrome characterized by facial dysmorphism (high forehead, depressed nasal bridge, long philtrum, flat malar region, high arched palate), short stature and deformities of the hands and feet (small hands/feet, flexion contractures of the first three metacarpophalangeal joints, extension contractures of the thumbs at the interphalangeal joints, clawed toes, mild pes cavus). Additional features include neonatal hypotonia, thin and shiny skin of the hands/feet, ridged nails, dry and coarse hair, mild weakness of the orbicularis oculi muscles and occasional ventricular extrasystoles. Intellectual disability may be present. There have been no further descriptions in the literature since 1970.

Key facts

Prevalence

<1 / 1 000 000

Age of onset

Infancy, Neonatal

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

These 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