Roberts syndrome

Roberts syndrome, or sometimes called pseudothalidomide syndrome, is an extremely rare genetic disorder that is characterized by mild to severe prenatal retardation or disruption of cell division, leading to malformation of the bones in the skull, face, arms, and legs. Roberts syndrome, or sometimes called pseudothalidomide syndrome, is an extremely rare genetic disorder that is characterized by mild to severe prenatal retardation or disruption of cell division, leading to malformation of the bones in the skull, face, arms, and legs. It is a genetic disorder caused by the mutation of the ESCO2 gene on 8th chromosome. Named after the famous Philadelphia surgeon and physician, Dr. John Bingham Roberts (1852–1924), who first described the syndrome in 1919, it is one of the rarest autosomal recessive disorders, affecting approximately 150 known individuals. The syndrome is both autosomal, in that there are equal numbers of copies of the gene in both males and females, and recessive, meaning the child must inherit the defective gene from both parents. The mutation causes cell division to occur slowly or unevenly, and the cells with abnormal genetic content die. Roberts syndrome can affect both males and females. Although the disorder is rare, the affected group is diverse. The mortality rate is high in severely affected individuals.