In 1997, Zlotogora analyzed 2000 Palestinian Arabic families and found that in 98 families at least one individual had congenital hydrocephalus and/or open neural tube defect. Among these families, 42 had congenital hydrocephalus without open neural tube defects; it was non-syndromal in 34 families and syndromal in the other eight (Meckel in 4, Warburg in 2, and an undiagnosed syndrome in each of the other 2 families). In the two families with Warburg syndrome there were three affected children who had hydrocephalus and one cephalocele, and in the last two families one child had hydrocephalus the other occipital cephalocele. Zlotogora (1997) indicated that Warburg syndrome was encountered in five Muslim families. The parents were first cousins in four of the families. In these families, 13 individuals were affected: 10 with hydrocephalus and three with occipital cephalocele.

Fawzi et al. (2000) reported on the first case of WWS in Gulf people. The patient was an infant born to consanguineous Qatari parents. The parents were healthy, and had five other unaffected children. At birth, the child presented with generalized weakness, hypotonia, and cyanotic spells with bradycardia. He had mild dysmorphic features (low set ears, depressed nasal bridge, widely separated nipples), ocular abnormalities (bilateral megalo-cornea, left retinal detachment, and bilateral glaucoma), ambiguous genitalia (microphalus, bifid scrotum, and undescended testes), absence of deep tendon reflexes, poorly elicited neonatal reflexes, wide anterior fontanel, and splaying skull sutures. Biochemical investigations revealed a very high level of creatinine phosphokinase (1682 IU/l). CT brain revealed hydrocephalus, aqueductal stenosis, cerebellar vermis hypoplasia, and lissencephaly, while abdominal ultrasound showed a left multicystic kidney. At eight months of age, the child developed seizures. He died at one year of age.

[Fawzi M, Bessisso M, Omar F. Walker-Warburg syndrome: a case report of a Qatari patient. Qatar Med J. 2000; 9(2):66-7.]

Currier et al. (2005) studied two consanguineous families affected with Walker-Warburg Syndrome, one each from Saudi Arabia and UAE. Sequencing on the POMT1 locus showed no mutations. In addiotion, homozygosity mapping revealed that neither of these families had identity by descent at the POMT1 locus

See Saudi Arabia > Currier et al. 2005