Spondyloenchondrodysplasia: clinical variability in three cases.

Spondyloenchondrodysplasia is a very rare skeletal dysplasia in which multiple enchondromata exist in the metaphyses of the long bones with platyspondyly. We present three patients (two of them are sibs) with spondyloenchondrodysplasia. The first patient was a 10-year-old boy, who had short stature and enchondromatous-like lesions in the metaphyses of the long bones and platyspondyly on radiography. His older sister (21-years old) had received growth hormone therapy 12 years earlier due to short stature, and her radiological findings were similar but milder than her brother. Both the sibs had normal intelligence and no calcification of the basal ganglia. The third patient was a 6-year-old boy who had short stature, mental retardation, enchondromatous-like lesions in the metaphyses of the long bones and platyspondyly. His cranial BT showed calcification of basal ganglia. The findings of the two sibs in the first family were compatible with spondyloenchondrodysplasia. The difference in clinical severity between the siblings shows the variability within the family. The third case with mental retardation and the presence of intracranial calcifications is compatible with spondyloenchondrodysplasia with basal ganglia calcification. In conclusion, we suggest that family screening and cranial imaging for the presence of intracranial calcifications should be considered in every patient with the diagnosis of spondyloenchondrodysplasia. Copyright 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.