Neurodevelopmental disorder with or without anomalies of the brain, eye, or heart (NEDBEH) is a neurological disorder that can also affect many other body systems. This condition primarily affects neurological development, causing intellectual disability, delayed development of speech and motor skills (such as sitting and walking), or autism spectrum disorder, which is a condition that affects communication and social interaction. Some affected individuals have additional neurological features, such as weak muscle tone (hypotonia), behavioral problems, and seizures.
NEDBEH can affect development of many other parts of the body. Some affected individuals have abnormalities of brain structures, such as the tissue that connects the left and right halves of the brain (the corpus callosum), a tissue called white matter, the fluid-filled cavities (ventricles) near the center of the brain, or a structure at the back of the brain known as the cerebellar vermis. Eye abnormalities that can occur include a gap or hole in one of the structures of the eye (coloboma), underdevelopment (hypoplasia) or breakdown (atrophy) of the nerves that carry information from the eyes to the brain (optic nerves), or unusually small eyeballs (microphthalmia). These eye problems can cause vision impairment. Some affected individuals have heart defects, most commonly ventricular septal defect, which is a hole in the muscular wall (septum) that separates the right and left sides of the heart's lower chambers.
Less commonly, other systems are affected in NEDBEH, including the kidneys and inner ear. Problems with the inner ear can lead to hearing impairment (sensorineural hearing loss).
The signs and symptoms in some people with NEDBEH resemble those of another condition known as CHARGE syndrome; however, people with NEDBEH do not have changes in the gene associated with CHARGE syndrome.