Caudal regression syndrome, or sacral agenesis (or
hypoplasia of the
sacrum), is a rare birth defect. It is a
congenital disorder
A birth defect, also known as a congenital disorder, is an abnormal condition that is present at birth regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disabilities that may be physical, intellectual, or developmental. The disabilities c ...
in which the
fetal development of the lower
spine—the
caudal
Caudal may refer to:
Anatomy
* Caudal (anatomical term) (from Latin ''cauda''; tail), used to describe how close something is to the trailing end of an organism
* Caudal artery, the portion of the dorsal aorta of a vertebrate that passes into the ...
partition of the spine—is abnormal. It occurs at a rate of approximately one per 60,000 live births.
[Medline Plus. Caudal Regression Syndrome.https://medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/caudal-regression-syndrome/#frequency]
Some babies are born with very small differences compared to typical development, and others have significant changes. Most grow up to be otherwise typical adults who have difficulty with walking and incontinence.
Signs and symptoms
This condition exists in a variety of forms, ranging from partial absence of the
tail bone regions of the spine to absence of the lower vertebrae, pelvis and parts of the thoracic and/or lumbar areas of the spine. In some cases, where only a small part of the spine is absent, there may be no outward sign of the condition. In cases where more substantial areas of the spine are absent, there may be fused, webbed or smaller lower extremities and paralysis. Bowel and bladder control is usually affected.
Cause

The condition arises from some factor or set of factors present during approximately the 3rd week to 7th week of fetal development. Formation of the sacrum/lower back and corresponding nervous system is usually nearing completion by the 4th week of development. Due to abnormal gastrulation, the mesoderm migration is disturbed. This disturbance results in symptoms varying from minor lesions of the lower vertebrae to more severe symptoms such as complete fusion of the lower limbs. While the exact cause is unknown, it has been speculated that the condition has a combination of environmental and genetic causes, and that various types of the condition may have differing causes.
Sacral agenesis syndrome (a type of caudal regression syndrome involving agenesis of the
lumbar spine, sacrum, and
coccyx, and hypoplasia of the lower extremities) is a well-established congenital anomaly associated with maternal
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...
mellitus. Other causes are presumably involved, as demonstrated by the rare overall incidence of caudal regression syndrome (1:60,000) compared to diabetes; however, the condition does have a greatly increased incidence among infants born to mothers with diabetes, estimated at 1 in 350 newborns of mothers with diabetes.
[
The dominant inherited sacral agenesis (also referred to as Currarino syndrome) is very often correlated with a ]mutation
In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, m ...
in the Hb9 (also called HlxB9) gene (shown by Sally Ann Lynch, 1995, Nature Genetics).
It was previously thought to be related to sirenomelia ("Mermaid syndrome") but has now been determined not to be related to this condition.
Prognosis
There are four levels (or types) of malformation. The least severe indicates partial deformation (unilateral) of the sacrum. The second level indicates a bilateral (uniform) deformation. The most severe types involve a total absence of the sacrum.
Depending on the type of sacral agenesis, bowel or urinary bladder deficiencies may be present. A permanent colostomy may be necessary in the case of imperforate anus. Incontinence may also require some type of continence control system (e.g., self-catheterization) to be utilized. The condition often impacts the formation of the knees, legs or feet that is sometimes addressed through surgery. For some with tightly webbed, bent knees or knees that are fused straight, disarticulation surgery at the knee may be a viable option to maximize mobility options.
Before more comprehensive medical treatment was available, full amputation of the legs at the hip was often performed. More recently, the amputation (actually a disarticulation because no cutting of the bone is involved) is done at the knee for those who have bent knee positions and webbing between thigh and calf to enable more ease of mobility and better seating. Some children with knee disarticulation use prosthetic legs to walk. Prosthetics for children without substantial hip and trunk
Trunk may refer to:
Biology
* Trunk (anatomy), synonym for torso
* Trunk (botany), a tree's central superstructure
* Trunk of corpus callosum, in neuroanatomy
* Elephant trunk, the proboscis of an elephant
Computing
* Trunk (software), in rev ...
control is usually abandoned in favor of faster and easier wheelchair mobility as the child's weight and age increase. Children may walk on their hands and generally are able to climb and move about to accomplish whatever they need and want to accomplish. Children more mildly affected may have normal gait and no need for assistive devices for walking. Others may walk with bracing or crutches.
There is typically no cognitive impairment associated with this disability. Adults with this disability live independently, attend college, and have careers in various fields. In 2012, Spencer West, a man with sacral agenesis and both legs amputated, climbed Mount Kilimanjaro
Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and ab ...
using only his hands. In 2021, athlete Zion Clark broke the Guinness World Record 20 m running on hands.
Society and culture
Notable people
* Zion Clark, American track athlete and wrestler, 2022 Guinness World Record holder (20 m hand sprint in 4.78 seconds)
* Rebecca Dubber
Rebecca Dubber (born 14 May 1993) is a New Zealand retired para-swimmer. She represented New Zealand at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London and at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. At the 2016 Games, she won the bronze medal in th ...
, New Zealand para-swimmer and Rio 2016 Paralympic bronze medalist
* Kenny Easterday, played a fictionalized version of himself in the film '' Kenny''
* Johnny Eck, American freak show performer
* Kurt Fearnley
Kurt Harry Fearnley, (born 23 March 1981) is an Australian Wheelchair racing, wheelchair racer, who has won gold medals at the Paralympic Games and 'crawled' the Kokoda Track. He has a Birth defect, congenital disorder called Caudal regressio ...
, Australian wheelchair racer
* Chloé Cooper Jones, American philosopher and author
* Bobby Martin Bobby Martin may refer to:
*Bobby Martin (American football) (1987–2020), American football player
*Bobby Martin (musician) (1903–2001), jazz trumpeter
*Bobby Martin, bass player for Canadian country group the James Barker Band
*Bobby Martin (p ...
, American footballer
* Kevin McKee, two-times Olympic champion and two-times world champion in sledge hockey
* Sainimili Naivalu
Sainimili Naivalu (1986–2019) was a paralympic athlete and disability activist from Fiji. She represented Fiji in international wheelchair table tennis competitions and was awarded gold and silver medals.
Biography
Naivalu was born in 1986 ...
, Fijian wheelchair table tennis medallist and disability rights activists
* Victoria Pendergast
Victoria "Tori" Pendergast (born 25 January 1991) is an Australian F58 athletics shot put competitor and LW12.1 classified Para-alpine skier. When she competed at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, she became Australia's first female sit ...
, first female Australian sit-skier at Winter Paralympics
* Jessica Rogers, American wheelchair racer and swimmer, founder and President of iSACRA (International Caudal Regression Syndrome Association)
* Rose Siggins, actress ('' American Horror Story: Freak Show'')
* Spencer West, Mountain climber, "Man Climbs Mt. Kilimanjaro On Hands". ABC News. 22 June 2012.
* Ghanim Al Muftah, a Qatari businessman, opened the 2022 Mondial ceremony as well as the 2022 Qatar Football World Cup with Morgan Freeman.
References
External links
{{Multiple abnormalities
Rare syndromes
Congenital disorders
Skeletal disorders
Sacrum
Syndromes affecting the nervous system