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CASE REPORT article

Front. Genet.

Sec. Human and Medical Genomics

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fgene.2025.1669849

Case Report: Novel mutations in two patients with MED13L-related intellectual disability highlighting the importance of genetic counseling

Provisionally accepted
  • West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

MED13L-related intellectual disability (Impaired intellectual development and distinctive facial features with or without cardiac defects, OMIM: 616789) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by intellectual disability, hypotonia, motor delay, and remarkable speech delay. We report two novel cases, each harboring a novel pathogenic MED13L variant, who presented with additional, previously unreported features: oligospermia in a 32-year-old male proband, and oligohydramnios and hematuria in a 6-year-old female proband, thereby expanding the known phenotypic spectrum. The study underscores the value of genetic testing and counseling, exemplified by the successful prenatal diagnosis and birth of an unaffected child in the second family. In addition, we reviewed previous literature with respect to phenotypic and genetic information. The literature reviewed here may potentially provide information for assessing clinical symptoms and genetic counseling. This study also highlighted the importance of preconception genetic counseling for couples with suspected genetic disease.

Keywords: MED13L, Genetic Counseling, recurrence risk, Intellectual Disability, Novel mutation, unreported symptoms

Received: 20 Jul 2025; Accepted: 14 Oct 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Cao, He, Wang, Zhou, Wei and ZHANG. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: XUEMEI ZHANG, xuemeizh001@163.com

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