Molecular and clinical characterization of a small duplication Xp in a human female with psychiatric disorders

CGH techniques allow us to detect small duplications thatoccur in humans with phenotypic manifestations and demon-strate the importance of these duplications in the etiologyof neurodevelopmental impairment. As in the case of otherX-linked disorders, X-inactivation plays a major role in theclinical expression of such X chromosomal imbalances withusually milder symptoms in females than in males. Mostmale patients carrying Xp duplication have mental retarda-tion (X-linked mental retardation) and variable facial dys-morphic features (Gimelli