A novel mitochondrial DNA deletion in a Chinese girl with Kearns-Sayre syndrome.

Kearns-Sayre syndrome is a rare disorder often caused by mitochondrial DNA rearrangement. The most commonly reported mitochondrial DNA deletion is 4977 bp in size spanning nucleotides 8469 and 13447. The clinical signs of Kearns-Sayre syndrome include chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia, retinitis pigmentosa, heart block and cerebellar ataxia, as well as other heterogeneous manifestations including neuromuscular problems and endocrine disorders. Cardiac conduction defects can develop insidiously, leading to sudden death sometimes if not promptly recognised. This report focuses on the diagnosis of Kearns-Sayre syndrome in a Chinese girl who presented initially with short stature, delayed puberty, insidious onset of ptosis and later with typical features of Kearns-Sayre syndrome including complete heart block. Genetic analysis disclosed a novel 7.2 kilobases deletion in muscle tissue. Mitochondrial diseases have heterogeneous phenotypes and mutational analysis has proven to be an effective tool for confirming the diagnosis.