| This syndrome has characteristics of wooly hair, palmoplantar keratoderma and dilated cardiomyopathy principally affecting the left ventricle. Only a few cases have been reported, all involving patients from Ecuador, India or Turkey. The wooly hair is present at birth and the palmoplantar keratoderma appears during the first year of life. The cardiac anomaly presents during childhood and is marked by dilation of the left ventricle accompanied by alterations in muscle contractility. The syndrome is transmitted as an autosomal recessive trait and is caused by mutations in the DSP gene (6p24) encoding desmoplakin, a protein involved in cell adhesion. The syndrome is similar to Naxos disease. |
