Mental Retardation Syndrome, Mietens-Weber Type

Mietens and Weber (1966) reported a family in which 4 of 6 offspring of unaffected, second-cousin parents had a syndrome consisting of mental retardation, corneal opacity, nystagmus, strabismus, small pinched nose, flexion contracture of the elbows, dislocation of head of radius, abnormally short ulna and radius, and clinodactyly.

Martinez-Glez et al. (2006) described 9-year-old female twins with Mietens-Weber syndrome. The patients were born after a normal pregnancy to young and nonconsanguineous parents. Findings noted soon after birth included horizontal nystagmus and dislocation of both elbows because of abnormally short radii and ulnae in both twins. Further clinical examinations showed moderate psychomotor delay with marked language compromise. Karyotypes were normal in both girls. Martinez-Glez et al. (2006) reviewed the literature and concluded that only 9 cases, including their 2, had been reported. The inheritance pattern appeared to be autosomal recessive. Martinez-Glez et al. (2006) stated that the finding of congenital nystagmus and radii dislocation in a patient with mental retardation is highly suggestive of the disorder.