Cerebro-facio-thoracic dysplasia: report of three cases.

Three children, two girls and one boy, are described as suffering from a new syndrome, 'cerebro-facio-thoracic dysplasia'. The characteristic findings are mental retardation, characteristic facies, narrow forehead, bushy eyebrows with synophrys, hypertelorism, broad nose, wide philtrum, triangular-shaped mouth, short neck, marked maxillary hypoplasia, a low hairline (especially posteriorly in the midline on the neck), brachycephaly, calcified clinoid ligements, and multiple bony abnormalities in the upper thoracic vertebrae and sometimes in the cervical region, together with a variety of deformities of the upper ribs. It seems possible that the condition is hereditary and that it may be inherited as a result of an autosomal recessive trait.