Congenital variant of Rett syndrome due to an intragenic large deletion in MECP2

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is one of the most common causes of mental retardation in females. RTT diagnosis is based on distinct clinical criteria. We describe here a female patient with severe phenotype of congenital variant RTT. The patient originally presented with severe developmental delay prior to the age of 6 months and later exhibited characteristic features of RTT that included air swallowing, bruxism, and hand stereotypies. Results of an array-based comparative genomic hybridization analysis indicated there was a very small microdeletion in Xq28. Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification analysis further confirmed there were heterozygous deletions of intron 2, exon 3, intron 3, and part of exon 4 in MECP2. Findings in the present patient confirm the view that large MECP2 deletions are an important cause of severe congenital variant RTT. To ensure an accurate diagnosis of congenital variant RTT, a multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification analysis of MECP2 should be performed in patients suspected of having this disorder.