Definition of Syndrome, Apert (acrocephalosyndactyly)

Syndrome, Apert (acrocephalosyndactyly): An inherited disorder with abnormalities of the skull and face and the hands and feet.

There is premature closure of the sutures of the skull (craniosynostosis). This results in an abnormal head shape, which is unusually tall but short from front to back, and an abnormally shaped face with shallow eye sockets and underdevelopment of the midface. There is fusion of fingers and toes (syndactyly) and broad ends of the thumbs and big toes.

Surgery is often useful with the abnormalities of the skull, face, hands and feet.

The best-known type of acrocephalosyndactyly is Apert syndrome which is due to a mutation in the fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) gene on chromosome 10. Different mutations in FGFR2 are responsible for two other genetic diseases, namely, Pfeiffer syndrome (another type of acrocephalosyndactyly) and Crouzon syndrome (purely a craniofacial disorder with no hand or foot problems). All are dominant traits.