Genetics of cleft lip and cleft palate in China.

During the past 10 years, 60 cases of cleft lip with or without cleft palate [CL(P)] were recorded among 45,072 newborns at Shanghai International Peace Maternity and Infant Hospital, China. The incidence was 1.33 per 1,000 births. The family histories of 163 CL(P) patients were analyzed. The incidences of CL(P) in the first-, second-, and third-degree relatives of CL(P) patients were 11/246 (4.47%), 10/1,032 (0.97%), and 6/1,727 (0.35%), respectively. Of the 163 probands, three had a history of consanguinity of the parents (1.8%), in contrast to 0.77% in the general population. These data are suggestive of multifactorial inheritance. The heritability of CL(P) in our study calculated by Falconer's formula was 77.6%.     

Distichiasis and cleft palate

A patient with the unusual coexistence of distichiasis and cleft palate is described. Distichiasis is a rare congenital eyelid anomaly in which accessory eyelashes are present in the meibomian gland orifices. Its association with other systemic abnormalities is reviewed; the distinctions among distichiasis, trichiasis, entropion, and epiblepharon are outlined; and methods of treatment for distichiasis are described.