Brachmann—de Lange Syndrome

THE WORK done by Kousseff and his co-workers1at the University of South Florida, Tampa, the several papers from a symposium published recently in theAmerican Journal of Medical Genetics,2-25and subsequent publications26-29attest to a strong ongoing interest in the Brachmann—de Lange syndrome (BDLS) by many different biomedical specialists. An editorial comment in 198530summarized several of the historical, developmental, and genetic aspects of this condition and reviewed the data on which causal hypotheses had been based. Kousseff et al1contribute importantly to this genetic database through their observation of affected, half first cousins. The father of patient 2 was the half brother of the mother of patient 1, and both had some manifestations of BDLS, including shortness of stature, small head, synophrys, microstomia, highly arched palate, myopia, micromelia, intellectual impairment (mother of patient 1), and marked hypertrichosis with inability to read or