Reproduction abnormalities and twin pregnancies in parents of sporadic patients with oculo-auriculo-vertebral spectrum/Goldenhar syndrome

Dagmar Wieczorek*, Michael Ludwig, Stefan Boehringer, Piet Hein Jongbloet, Gabriele Gillessen-Kaesbach, Bernhard Horsthemke

*Corresponding author for this work
38 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A great number of case reports on concordant and discordant twins with oculo-auriculo-vertebral spectrum (OAVS) suggest that there might be an association between reproductive abnormalities, twinning and OAVS. The etiology of OAVS is unknown, but may involve epigenetic dysregulation of the oocyte or early embryo. We collected data on fertility and pregnancy outcome of 72 parents of patients with sporadic OAVS. We also evaluated prospective follow-up data on 3.372 fetuses and children conceived by intracytoplasmatic sperm injection (ICSI). Parental age, duration of menstrual cycle and the incidence of spontaneous abortion was not different when compared to the German population. However, there is an excess of parents who have used assisted reproductive techniques (ART; retrospective P = 0.038, prospective P = 0.023) and an excess of twins among naturally conceived patients with OAVS (P = 0.0025). An excess of ART conceptions and monozygotic twinning in OAVS is compatible with the concept of overripeness ovopathy as proposed by Jongbloet.

Original languageEnglish
JournalHuman Genetics
Volume121
Issue number3-4
Pages (from-to)369-376
Number of pages8
ISSN0340-6717
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 05.2007

Research Areas and Centers

  • Research Area: Medical Genetics

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