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DOI: 10.3233/PGE-2012-027
Cytogenetic analysis in a large series of children with non-syndromic mental retardation
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Publication History
07 December 2010
15 March 2012
Publication Date:
27 July 2015 (online)

Abstract
Mental retardation affects 1–3% of the population. To evaluate the implication of chromosomal abnormalities in the etiology of mental retardation, 1420 patients with non-syndromic mental retardation recruited at the department of cytogenetics of Farhat Hached hospital (Sousse, Tunisia) between January 2005 and December 2009, were analyzed using standard cytogenetic techniques. Age ranged between 3 and 18 years with a median of 8 years. Chromosomal abnormalities were detected in 7.8% of patients and an increased prevalence of chromosome anomalies was observed in patients when the mental retardation is associated with a severe degree of intellectual disability, facial dysmorphic features and/or congenital malformations or epilepsy.