CUL3-related neurodevelopmental disorder is a condition that affects neurological and physical development. Children with CUL3-related neurodevelopmental disorder may have intellectual disability or specific learning disorders. They may also experience delayed development of speech and motor skills, such as sitting and walking. Some individuals with this condition may have autism spectrum disorder, a developmental condition that affects communication and social skills.
Movement abnormalities can also occur in people with CUL3-related neurodevelopmental disorder. Affected individuals may have weak muscle tone (hypotonia) in childhood. In adulthood, they may develop involuntary muscle tensing (dystonia), rhythmic shaking (tremor), or other uncontrolled movements (spasms).
People with CUL3-related neurodevelopmental disorder can have distinctive facial features, including a long, triangular-shaped face; a large forehead; a large, rounded nose; small ears; deep-set eyes; or a pointed chin. Some affected individuals have a larger than normal head (macrocephaly).
Many people with CUL3-related neurodevelopmental disorder have hand and foot abnormalities. Hand abnormalities can include small pinky (fifth) fingers that curve inward (clinodactyly), narrow thumbs, underdevelopment of the muscle at the base of the thumb (thenar hypoplasia), or a single crease across the palm of the hand. Foot abnormalities can include high arches of the feet (pes cavus); bunions; fusion of the skin between some toes (cutaneous syndactyly); or joint deformities (contractures) in the ankles, feet, or toes. A few individuals with CUL3-related neurodevelopmental disorder have an abnormally curved lower back (lordosis) or a spine that curves to the side (scoliosis).
Some affected infants have a backflow of stomach acids into the esophagus (gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD), which tends to go away after childhood. Rarely, recurrent seizures (epilepsy), congenital heart abnormalities, or genitourinary abnormalities occur in people with CUL3-related neurodevelopmental disorder. [from
MedlinePlus Genetics]