GENE GUIDE

CSNK2B-Related Syndrome

This guide is not meant to take the place of medical advice. Please consult with your doctor about your genetic results and health care choices. This Gene Guide was last updated on 2024. As new information comes to light with new research we will update this page. You may find it helpful to share this guide with friends and family members or doctors and teachers of the person who has CSNK2B-Related Syndrome.
a doctor sees a patient

CSNK2B-related syndrome is also called Poirier-Bienvenu neurodevelopmental syndrome. For this guide, we will be using the name CSNK2B-related syndrome to encompass the wide range of variants observed in the people identified.

CSNK2B-related syndrome happens when there are changes in the CSNK2B gene. These changes can keep the gene from working as it should.

Key Role

The CSNK2B gene plays different roles in the body, including cell to cell communication, cell division, and expression of other genes.

Symptoms

Because the CSNK2B gene is important in the development and function of brain cells, many people who have CSNK2B-related syndrome have:

  • Seizures
  • Developmental delay
  • Poor or absent speech
  • Autism or features of autism
  • Mobility issues

Our genes contain the instructions, or code, that tell our cells how to grow, develop, and work. Every child gets two copies of the CSNK2B gene: one copy from their mother, from the egg, and one copy from their father, from the sperm. In most cases, parents pass on exact copies of the gene to their child. But the process of copying genes is not perfect. A change in the genetic code can lead to physical issues, developmental issues, or both.

Sometimes a random change happens in the sperm or egg. This change to the genetic code is called a ‘de novo’, or new, change. The child can be the first in the family to have the gene change.

De novo changes can take place in any gene. We all have some de novo changes, most of which don’t affect our health. But because CSNK2B plays a key role in development, de novo changes in this gene can have a meaningful effect.

Research shows that CSNK2B-related syndrome is often the result of a de novo change in CSNK2B. Many parents who have had their genes tested do not have the CSNK2B gene change found in their child who has the syndrome. In some cases, CSNK2B-related syndrome happens because the gene change was passed down from a parent.

Dominant Inheritance

Children have a 50% chance of inheriting the genetic change.

Child who has genetic change in CSNK2B gene

Genetic change occurs in egg or sperm after fertilization
Child with de novo genetic change in autism gene

No parent causes their child’s CSNK2B-related syndrome. We know this because no parent has any control over the gene changes that they do or do not pass on to their children. Please keep in mind that nothing a parent does before or during the pregnancy causes this to happen. The gene change takes place on its own and cannot be predicted or stopped.

Each family is different. A geneticist or genetic counselor can give you advice on the chance that this will happen again in your family.

The risk of having another child who has CSNK2B-related syndrome depends on the genes of both birth parents.

  • If neither birth parent has the same gene change found in their child, the chance of having another child who has the syndrome is on average 1 percent. This 1 percent chance is higher than the chance of the general population. The increase in risk is due to the very unlikely chance that more of the mother’s egg cells or the father’s sperm cells carry the same change in the gene.
  • If one birth parent has the same gene change found in their child, the chance of having another child who has the syndrome is 50 percent.

For a symptom-free sibling, a brother or sister, of someone who has CSNK2B-related syndrome, the risk of having a child who has the syndrome depends on the symptom-free sibling’s genes and their parents’ genes.

  • If neither parent has the same gene change found in their child who has the syndrome, the symptom-free sibling has a nearly 0 percent chance of having a child who has CSNK2B-related syndrome.
  • If one birth parent has the same gene change found in their child who has the syndrome, the symptom-free sibling has a small chance of also having the same gene change. If the symptom- free sibling has the same gene change as their sibling who has the syndrome, the symptom-free sibling’s chance of having a child who has CSNK2B-related syndrome is 50 percent.

For a person who has CSNK2B-related syndrome, the risk of having a child who has the syndrome is about 50 percent.

As of 2024, about 77 people with CSNK2B-related syndrome have been described in medical research.

People who have CSNK2B-related syndrome may look different. Appearance can vary and can include some but not all of these features:

  • Lower than average muscle tone
  • Dental changes
  • A tongue that might protrude
  • Unique facial features

Scientists and doctors have only just begun to study CSNK2B-related syndrome. At this point, there are no medicines designed to treat the syndrome. A genetic diagnosis can help people decide on the best way to track the condition and manage therapies. Doctors can refer people to specialists for:

  • Physical exams and brain studies
  • Genetics consults
  • Development and behavior studies
  • Other issues, as needed

A developmental pediatrician, neurologist, or psychologist can follow progress over time and can help:

  • Suggest the right therapies. This can include physical, occupational, speech, or behavioral therapy.
  • Guide individualized education plans (IEPs).

Specialists advise that therapies for CSNK2B-related syndrome should begin as early as possible, ideally before a child begins school.

If seizures happen, consult a neurologist. There are many types of seizures, and not all types are easy to spot. To learn more, you can refer to resources such as the Epilepsy Foundation’s website: epilepsy.com/…t-is-epilepsy/seizure-types

This section includes a summary of information from published articles that describe 67 people with changes in the CSNK2B gene. It highlights how many people have different symptoms. To learn more about the articles, see the Sources and references section of this guide.

Learning

Most people with CSNK2B-related syndrome had intellectual disability or developmental delay (ID/DD).

61 out of 67 people had intellectual disability (91 percent). 

  • 20 out of 67 people had severe ID/DD (30 percent)
  • 7 out of 67 people had moderate ID/DD (10 percent)
  • 34 out of 67 people had mild ID/DD (50 percent)
  • 6 out of 67 people had average intelligence (9 percent)
91%
61 out of 67 people had intellectual disability.
30%
20 out of 67 people had severe ID/DD.
10%
7 out of 67 people had moderate ID/DD.
50%
34 out of 67 people had mild ID/DD.
9%
6 out of 67 people had average intelligence.

Some people had autism.

  • 12 out of 67 people had autism (18 percent)

Brain

Most people had seizures. Some people had a larger than average head size, also called macrocephaly. Others had a smaller than average head size, also called microcephaly.

  • 57 out of 67 people had seizures (85 percent)
  • 4 out of 67 people had a larger than average head size (6 percent)
  • 7 out of 67 people had a smaller than average head size (10 percent)
85%
57 out of 67 people had seizures.
6%
4 out of 67 people had a larger than average head size.
10%
7 out of 67 people had a smaller than average head size.

Other features

About one-quarter of people had failure to thrive or were shorter than average in height.

  • 17 out of 67 people had failure to thrive or shorter than average height (25 percent)

Some people with CSNK2B-related syndrome had eye or vision issues, such as farsightedness, eyes that move rapidly without control (nystagmus), or eyelids that are droopy.

Where can I find support and resources?

CSNK2B Neurodevelopmental Syndrome Foundation

https://csnk2b.org/

Simons Searchlight is another research program sponsored and run by the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative, also known as SFARI. As part of the next step in your research journey, Simons Searchlight offers you the opportunity to partner with scientists and other families who have the same gene change. Simons Searchlight is a registry for more than 150 genetic changes that are associated with neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism spectrum disorder. Simons Searchlight makes it easier for researchers to access the information they need to advance research on a condition. To register for Simons Searchlight, go to the Simons Searchlight website at www.simonssearchlight.org and click “Join Us Today”.

Learn more about Simons Searchlight

www.simonssearchlight.org/frequently-asked-questions

Simons Searchlight webpage with more information on CSNK2B

www.simonssearchlight.org/research/what-we-study/csnk2b

Simons Searchlight Facebook group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/830730387576009

Sources and References

  • Chen, X., Han, Y., Li, X., Huang, S., Yuan, H., & Qin, Y. (2023). Case report: Two cases of Poirier-Bienvenu neurodevelopmental syndrome and review of literature. Frontiers in Pediatrics, 11, 967701. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37020656/
  • Di Stazio, M., Zanus, C., Faletra, F., Pesaresi, A., Ziccardi, I., Morgan, A., Girotto, G., Costa, P., Carrozzi, M., d’Adamo, A. P., & Musante, L. (2023). Haploinsufficiency as a foreground pathomechanism of Poirer-Bienvenu syndrome and novel insights underlying the phenotypic continuum of CSNK2B-associated disorders. Genes (Basel), 14(2), 250. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36833176/
  • Ernst, M. E., … Aggarwal, V. (2021). CSNK2B: A broad spectrum of neurodevelopmental disability and epilepsy severity. Epilepsia, 62(7), e103-e109. doi:10.1111/epi.16931
  • Li, D., Zhou, B., Tian, X., Chen, X., Wang, Y., Hao, S., Zhang, C., & Hui, L. (2024). Genetic analysis and literature review of a Poirier-Bienvenu neurodevelopmental syndrome family line caused by a de novo frameshift variant in CSNK2B. Molecular Genetics & Genomic Medicine, 12(1), e2327. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38037515/

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