Disorders of sex development in developmental syndromes

Abstract

Disorders of sex development comprise an array of congenital conditions with atypical development of chromosomal, gonadal, and anatomical sex affecting the genitourinary tract and in most instances also the endocrine-reproductive system. While the molecular basis of some of these disorders has been well established, it remains elusive in others. This holds true especially for disorders of sex development that are associated with other congenital malformations and abnormalities in a 'syndromic' condition. Syndromic disorders of sex development may be due to monogenic defects, biochemical abnormalities of steroid synthesis, or cytogenetic abnormalities comprising microdeletions or duplications or unbalanced rearrangements. This review will focus on the clinical description of syndromic disorders of sex development guiding towards the genetic classification. The characterization of the underlying diagnosis will improve genetic counseling of the family including prognosis and recurrence risk.