Kallmann syndrome
Last updated 18 Aug 2020
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Kallmann syndrome is a condition characterised by delayed or absent puberty and an impaired sense of smell.
Description
Kallmann syndrome is a condition characterised by delayed or absent puberty and an impaired sense of smell.
This disorder is a form of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, which is a condition resulting from a lack of production of certain hormones that direct sexual development. These hormones are normally made in a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. Males born with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism often have an unusually small penis (micropenis) and undescended testes (cryptorchidism). At puberty, most affected individuals do not develop secondary sex characteristics, such as the growth of facial hair and deepening of the voice in males, the start of monthly periods (menstruation) and breast development in females, and a growth spurt in both sexes. Without treatment, most affected men and women are unable to have biological children (infertile).
In Kallmann syndrome, the sense of smell is either diminished (hyposmia) or completely absent (anosmia). This feature distinguishes Kallmann syndrome from most other forms of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, which do not affect the sense of smell. Many people with Kallmann syndrome are not aware that they are unable to detect odors until the impairment is discovered through testing.
Kallmann syndrome can have a wide variety of additional signs and symptoms. These include a failure of one kidney to develop (unilateral renal agenesis), abnormalities of bones in the fingers or toes, a cleft lip with or without an opening in the roof of the mouth (a cleft palate), abnormal eye movements, hearing loss, and abnormalities of tooth development. Some affected individuals have a feature called bimanual synkinesis, in which the movements of one hand are mirrored by the other hand. Bimanual synkinesis can make it difficult to do tasks that require the hands to move separately, such as playing a musical instrument.
Inheritance patterns
The source lists the following possible inheritance patterns: Autosomal dominant; Autosomal recessive; X-linked recessive. More than one pattern can apply in different cases.
Related genes
Other names
Anosmic hypogonadism
Anosmic idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism
Hypogonadism with anosmia
Hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and anosmia
Hypogonadotropic hypogonadism-anosmia syndrome
Kallman's syndrome
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Further reading and references
- Kallmann syndrome; MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine.
- Balasubramanian R, Crowley WF Jr. Isolated Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone (GnRH) Deficiency. 2007 May 23 [updated 2022 May 12]. In: Adam MP, Bick S, Mirzaa GM, Wallace SE, Amemiya A, editors. GeneReviews(R) [Internet]. Seattle (WA): University of Washington, Seattle; 1993-2026. Available from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1334/
- Boehm U, Bouloux PM, Dattani MT, de Roux N, Dode C, Dunkel L, Dwyer AA, Giacobini P, Hardelin JP, Juul A, Maghnie M, Pitteloud N, Prevot V, Raivio T, Tena-Sempere M, Quinton R, Young J. Expert consensus document: European Consensus Statement on congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism--pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2015 Sep;11(9):547-64. doi: 10.1038/nrendo.2015.112. Epub 2015 Jul 21.
- Costa-Barbosa FA, Balasubramanian R, Keefe KW, Shaw ND, Al-Tassan N, Plummer L, Dwyer AA, Buck CL, Choi JH, Seminara SB, Quinton R, Monies D, Meyer B, Hall JE, Pitteloud N, Crowley WF Jr. Prioritizing genetic testing in patients with Kallmann syndrome using clinical phenotypes. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2013 May;98(5):E943-53. doi: 10.1210/jc.2012-4116. Epub 2013 Mar 26.
- Dode C, Levilliers J, Dupont JM, De Paepe A, Le Du N, Soussi-Yanicostas N, Coimbra RS, Delmaghani S, Compain-Nouaille S, Baverel F, Pecheux C, Le Tessier D, Cruaud C, Delpech M, Speleman F, Vermeulen S, Amalfitano A, Bachelot Y, Bouchard P, Cabrol S, Carel JC, Delemarre-van de Waal H, Goulet-Salmon B, Kottler ML, Richard O, Sanchez-Franco F, Saura R, Young J, Petit C, Hardelin JP. Loss-of-function mutations in FGFR1 cause autosomal dominant Kallmann syndrome. Nat Genet. 2003 Apr;33(4):463-5. doi: 10.1038/ng1122. Epub 2003 Mar 10.
- Dode C, Teixeira L, Levilliers J, Fouveaut C, Bouchard P, Kottler ML, Lespinasse J, Lienhardt-Roussie A, Mathieu M, Moerman A, Morgan G, Murat A, Toublanc JE, Wolczynski S, Delpech M, Petit C, Young J, Hardelin JP. Kallmann syndrome: mutations in the genes encoding prokineticin-2 and prokineticin receptor-2. PLoS Genet. 2006 Oct 20;2(10):e175. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.0020175. Epub 2006 Sep 1.
- Kim SH. Congenital Hypogonadotropic Hypogonadism and Kallmann Syndrome: Past, Present, and Future. Endocrinol Metab (Seoul). 2015 Dec;30(4):456-66. doi: 10.3803/EnM.2015.30.4.456.
- Topaloglu AK, Kotan LD. Genetics of Hypogonadotropic Hypogonadism. Endocr Dev. 2016;29:36-49. doi: 10.1159/000438841. Epub 2015 Dec 17.
- Valdes-Socin H, Rubio Almanza M, Tome Fernandez-Ladreda M, Debray FG, Bours V, Beckers A. Reproduction, smell, and neurodevelopmental disorders: genetic defects in different hypogonadotropic hypogonadal syndromes. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2014 Jul 9;5:109. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2014.00109. eCollection 2014.
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