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To the Editor.鈥�听
Gardner et al, in the August Archives (115:978-979, 1979), stated that karyotypic studies on their patient with the Michelin Tire baby syndrome "showed a normal female XX pattern, but an abnormal deletion of chromosome 11."I would like to request the following additional information: (1) What type of cytogenetic studies were performed? What banding techniques were used to identify chromosomes and their segments? (2) Exactly how many karyotypes were examined, and in what percentage was the change in chromosome 11 found? (3) How much of chromosome 11 was deleted? Which arm was deleted? Was the entire chromosome deleted? (4) What is "an abnormal deletion"? Are there normal deletions?Only with somewhat more detailed information can we interpret such potentially meaningful statements about chromosomal abnormalities and clinical syndromes.