Clinical Description
To date, more than 300 individuals have been identified with biallelic pathogenic variants in VPS13B [Falk et al 2004, Kolehmainen et al 2004, Mochida et al 2004, Taban et al 2007, Peeters et al 2008, Balikova et al 2009, Momtazmanesh et al 2020]. The following description of the phenotypic features associated with Cohen syndrome is based on these reports.
Phenotypic features of Cohen syndrome are variable and include developmental delay, hypotonia, progressive retinal dystrophy and myopia, acquired microcephaly, joint laxity, characteristic facial features, truncal obesity, cheerful disposition, and neutropenia. The spectrum of these clinical findings ranges from severe to milder.
Note: Certain statistics presented here are from the National Cohen Syndrome Database (NCSD) in which approximately 50% of individuals are Old Order Amish; the diagnosis of Cohen syndrome has been confirmed by molecular genetic testing in most individuals [H Wang, personal observation].
Table 2.
Cohen syndrome: Frequency of Select Features
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| Feature | % of Persons w/Feature | Comment |
|---|
| Developmental delay / intellectual disability | 100% | Non-progressive; severity varies even between sibs |
| Hypotonia | 90%-100% | Improves over time |
| Microcephaly | 90%-100% | Develops during or after 1st yr of life |
| Neutropenia | 90%-100% | Neutropenia may be overlooked or diagnosed in early infancy. |
| Progressive high myopia | 90%-100% | |
| Retinal dystrophy | 90%-100% | Range reflects that some younger persons may not have reached the age that retinal dystrophy is typically diagnosed. |
| Truncal obesity | 80% | Appearing in or after mid-childhood w/rapid onset |
| Neurobehavioral/psychiatric manifestations | >75% | Cheerful & friendly disposition |
| Short stature | 65% | |
Hypotonia. Half of mothers whose children are included in the NCSD recalled reduced fetal movement during an otherwise normal pregnancy. Most newborns with Cohen syndrome are hypotonic; feeding and breathing difficulties, likely related to hypotonia, are common during the first days of life.
Hypotonia, present in all infants by age one year [Kivitie-Kallio & Norio 2001], appears to improve over time regardless of intervention. Joint laxity and additional musculoskeletal features including kyphosis, scoliosis, and pes planovalgus are likely related to hypotonia. However, a clumsy gait seems to be more disease specific and common [Kivitie-Kallio et al 2000, Chandler et al 2003a].
Developmental delay. All children have delayed developmental milestones in the first year of life. Individuals in the NCSD showed fairly consistent findings on certain developmental milestones compared with other cohorts with Cohen syndrome (see Table 3) [Kivitie-Kallio & Norio 2001, Chandler et al 2003a, Nye et al 2005]. Overall, children with Cohen syndrome attain developmental milestones at a slower rate than average; however, once achieved, psychomotor skills do not regress. At least 20% of individuals are unable to communicate verbally. The degree of developmental delay varies considerably, even among sibs [Horn et al 2000].
Table 3.
Cohen Syndrome: Timing of Achievement of Developmental Milestones
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| Developmental Milestone | Age at Milestone Achievement |
|---|
| Finnish Cohort 1 | English Cohort 2 | NCSD (US) Cohort 3 |
|---|
| Roll over | 4-12 mos | -- | 7 months |
| Sit independently | 10-18 mos | 12 months | 11 mos |
| Walk independently | 2-5 yrs | 2.5 yrs | 2.5 yrs |
| Speak first words | 1-5 yrs | 2.5 yrs | 3.2 yrs |
| Speak in sentences | 5-6 yrs | 5 yrs | 4.2 yrs |
Intellectual disability. While cognitive ability varies, most affected individuals are in the moderate-to-profound range of intellectual disability [Kivitie-Kallio et al 1999b, Chandler et al 2003b, Karpf et al 2004]. While the ability to function independently is generally poor, socialization skills are relatively less impaired. Individuals with Cohen syndrome are typically described as having a "cheerful and friendly disposition."
Ophthalmologic
Progressive high myopia. Individuals with Cohen syndrome had a first ophthalmologic visit at an average age of 4.5 years, when they received their first pair of glasses.
The progressive myopia and late-onset lens subluxation that occur in some individuals result from progressive laxity of zonules and progressive rounding up of the lens (spherophakia). Older individuals can have tremulousness of the iris (iridodonesis) because of lens subluxation and/or microspherophakia.
Retinal dystrophy. Defective dark adaptation / night blindness (nyctalopia) indicating rod involvement was typically noticed after age seven years. However, studies of children younger than age five years had both abnormal retinal findings and changes on the electroretinogram (ERG) [
Chandler et al 2002] as well as marked progression of retinal dystrophy over time, with many individuals developing a bull's-eye maculopathy indicating cone involvement and optic nerve atrophy likely secondary to the retinal degeneration.
More than 70% of individuals in the NCSD fall often or trip easily, most likely because of constriction of peripheral visual fields secondary to retinal dystrophy.
Of ten individuals from nine families of Italian ancestry, nine had retinal dystrophy and eight had high myopia [
Katzaki et al 2007]. Although 20% of individuals in a Greek cohort developed significant visual impairment [
Douzgou et al 2011,
Douzgou & Petersen 2011], progression to complete blindness has not been reported in other ethnic groups to the authors' knowledge.
Other ophthalmologic findings include astigmatism, strabismus, microcornea, microphthalmia, sluggish pupillary reaction, iris atrophy and oval pupil, cataracts, coloboma of the retina or lids,
congenital ptosis, and exophthalmos [
Taban et al 2007].
Several individuals have developed cystoid macular edema that responds well to treatment with topical dorzolamide drops [
Sevik et al 2021; E Traboulsi, personal observation]. Some individuals have developed glaucoma [
Li et al 2018] and retinal detachments [E Traboulsi, personal observation].
Short stature. About 65% of individuals in the NCSD have short stature. Adult height in six individuals from three families was at or below the 3rd centile [Peeters et al 2008]. In ten individuals ages five to 52 years from nine families, seven had short stature and eight had truncal obesity; BMI ranged from 21.8 to 32.2 [Katzaki et al 2007]. Extensive evaluations of pituitary, adrenal, and thyroid function in individuals of Finnish descent showed no significant abnormalities [Kivitie-Kallio et al 1999a].
The prevalence of growth hormone deficiency in Cohen syndrome is unknown. Three individuals who had growth hormone deficiency displayed catch-up growth following initiation of growth hormone replacement therapy [H Wang, personal observation].
Truncal obesity. More than 80% of individuals in the NCSD were reported to be underweight during early childhood but overweight afterward. Although poor weight gain is common in infancy and early childhood due to the feeding difficulties and frequent infections, children subsequently become significantly overweight in their teenage years. The obesity tends to be truncal.
The average age of onset of obesity is 11.3 years (14.6 years in individuals of Amish descent and 8.4 years in individuals of non-Amish ancestry). This change usually occurs rapidly over a period of four to six months, with a weight gain of 10-15 kg even though appetite and food intake are not increased and activity is not decreased during this time [H Wang, personal observation].
Neurobehavioral/psychiatric manifestations. Psychological evaluations identified maladaptive and autistic-type behavior in some individuals [Kivitie-Kallio et al 1999b, Chandler et al 2003b, Karpf et al 2004]. Detailed psychometric and behavioral analyses did not identify any severe behavioral problems in six affected adults but confirmed a wide range of dysfunction related to the degree of intellectual disability and visual impairment [Peeters et al 2008]. Aggression and self-injury have been observed occasionally [H Wang, personal observation].
Neutropenia. Neutropenia, observed in all age groups, is usually moderate to mild (i.e., 500-1,200 per microliter) [H Wang, personal observation]. It may be the first presenting manifestation in some younger individuals before other clinical features fully develop [Marti et al 2025]. Low-normal neutrophil counts are common in individuals who do not have frank neutropenia. Because the neutropenia may not necessarily result in an overall low white blood cell count, it may be overlooked for years in some individuals.
While neutropenia is not cyclic and usually not life-threatening [Kivitie-Kallio et al 1997; H Wang, personal observation], some individuals have recurrent infections and aphthous ulcers [Falk et al 2004].
More than 80% of children in the NCSD have had more than five episodes of otitis media per year and most of them had tympanostomy tubes placed during early childhood. Most children also had an average of 2.5 lifetime episodes of pneumonia.
More than 65% of individuals experience repeated oral mucosal ulcers and gingival infections for which prophylactic granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) therapy has commonly been used.
Results of bone marrow examinations reported by Kivitie-Kallio & Norio [2001] showed a normocellular or hypercellular marrow, with a left-shifted granulopoiesis in about half of affected individuals [Kivitie-Kallio & Norio 2001].
While neutropenia may contribute to the compromised immune function in some individuals, it is unknown if it is the sole cause. The frequency and severity of infections does not appear to correlate with absolute neutrophil count (ANC), as individuals with and without frequent infections have an ANC in the same range as those without increased infections (500-1,200 per microliter).
Hematologic malignancies have not been reported.
Other immune disturbances.
De Ravel et al [2002] reported rheumatoid arthritis in one individual. Uveitis and recurrent pericarditis have been seen in a few affected individuals [H Wang, personal observation].
Neurologic. Seizures have been reported in some individuals [Coppola et al 2003, Atabek et al 2004]. Anecdotally, two individuals in the NCSD cohort with epilepsy requiring anti-seizure medications seem to have more severe disease as characterized by more severe intellectual disability and an inability to communicate verbally. Most individuals, however, particularly those older than age five years in the Finnish cohort, were reported to have low-voltage EEGs without irritative spikes or epileptiform foci [Kivitie-Kallio et al 1999b].
Microcephaly usually develops during or after age one year.
Brain MRI of 18 individuals found normal gray and white matter signal intensity but a relatively enlarged corpus callosum compared to 26 controls [Kivitie-Kallio et al 1998]; however, this finding appeared to be subtle and nonspecific.
Distinctive facial features. Typical Cohen syndrome facial features (including thick scalp hair, low posterior hairline, thick eyebrows, long and thick eyelashes, high-arched and wave-shaped palpebral fissures, broad nasal tip, smooth or short philtrum, prominent upper central incisors, and hypotonic appearance) have been described in different ethnicities. Together the short philtrum and prominent upper central incisors result in an open-mouth appearance (see ).
Distinctive facial features in two individuals with Cohen syndrome with thick scalp hair, thick eyebrows, wave-shaped eyes, and broad nasal tip. Note that the short philtrum and prominent upper central incisors result in an open-mouth appearance. A. 30-year-old (more...)
Although Horn et al [2000] and Falk et al [2004] also found that while the facial gestalt is quite consistent among affected individuals within a particular ethnic group, it appears to be inconsistent across different ethnicities; e.g., lack of the frontonasal angle together with a short philtrum made the nose appear "overly long" in a cohort from Greece [Bugiani et al 2008]. Nonetheless, taking into consideration that reported individuals have been evaluated by different clinicians, these distinctive facial features present in individuals from different ethnic backgrounds is noteworthy.
Craniofacial and nasopharyngeal abnormalities that can cause management difficulties with anesthesia include micrognathia and high and narrow palate.
Cardiovascular. Although the cardiovascular system is not commonly affected, cardiac evaluation in 22 individuals of Finnish descent identified decreased left ventricular function with advancing age [Kivitie-Kallio et al 1999a].
Other