What is (are) TAR syndrome ?
TAR syndrome is characterized by the absence of a bone called the radius in each forearm, short stature, and thrombocytopenia. The thrombocytopenia often appears first in infancy but becomes less severe or returns to normal over time. Infants and young children are particularly vulnerable to episodes of severe bleeding which may occur in the brain and other organs. Children who survive this period and do not have damaging bleeding in the brain usually have a normal life expectancy and normal intellectual development. Other signs and symptoms vary but may include heart defects, kidney defects, and other skeletal abnormalities. About half of people with TAR syndrome also have difficulty digesting cow's milk. TAR syndrome is thought be caused by a deletion of genes on chromosome 1q21.1 in concert with another genetic change that has yet to be identified. Click here to see a diagram of chromosome 1.