National Center for Advancing and Translational Sciences Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center, a program of the National Center for Advancing and Translational Sciences

Laurence-Moon syndrome

Laurence-Moon syndrome is a rare condition that affects many different parts of the body. Signs and symptoms vary but may include cerebellar ataxia; eye abnormalities (primarily affecting the choroid and retina); peripheral neuropathy; spastic paraplegia (progressive weakness and stiffness of the legs); intellectual disability; congenital (from birth) or childhood hypopituitarism; and short stature. Laurence-Moon syndrome is caused by changes (mutations) in the PNPLA6 gene and is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. Treatment is based on the signs and symptoms present in each person.[1][2][3]

Until recently, Laurence-Moon syndrome has been associated with Bardet-Biedl syndrome but newer research determined that they are separate conditions.[1]
Last updated: 6/18/2015

This table lists symptoms that people with this disease may have. For most diseases, symptoms will vary from person to person. People with the same disease may not have all the symptoms listed. This information comes from a database called the Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) . The HPO collects information on symptoms that have been described in medical resources. The HPO is updated regularly. Use the HPO ID to access more in-depth information about a symptom.

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Medical Terms Other Names
Learn More:
HPO ID
80%-99% of people have these symptoms
Abnormality of the antitragus 0009896
Finger syndactyly 0006101
Hand polydactyly
Extra finger
0001161
Intellectual disability
Mental deficiency
Mental retardation
Mental retardation, nonspecific
Mental-retardation
[ more ] 		0001249
Obesity
Having too much body fat
0001513
30%-79% of people have these symptoms
Cryptorchidism
Undescended testes
Undescended testis
[ more ] 		0000028
Hypoplasia of penis
Underdeveloped penis
0008736
Renal insufficiency
Renal failure
Renal failure in adulthood
[ more ] 		0000083
Sensorineural hearing impairment 0000407
Short stature
Decreased body height
Small stature
[ more ] 		0004322
5%-29% of people have these symptoms
Abnormality of cardiovascular system morphology 0030680
Ataxia 0001251
Bilateral single transverse palmar creases 0007598
Brachycephaly
Short and broad skull
0000248
Brachydactyly
Short fingers or toes
0001156
Cataract
Clouding of the lens of the eye
Cloudy lens
[ more ] 		0000518
Congenital hepatic fibrosis
Excessive buildup of connective tissue and scarring of liver at birth
0002612
Displacement of the urethral meatus 0100627
Epicanthus
Eye folds
Prominent eye folds
[ more ] 		0000286
Iris coloboma
Cat eye
0000612
Low-set, posteriorly rotated ears 0000368
Nystagmus
Involuntary, rapid, rhythmic eye movements
0000639
Strabismus
Cross-eyed
Squint
Squint eyes
[ more ] 		0000486
Type II diabetes mellitus
Noninsulin-dependent diabetes
Type 2 diabetes
Type II diabetes
[ more ] 		0005978
Percent of people who have these symptoms is not available through HPO
Abnormality of the hand
Abnormal hands
Hand anomalies
Hand deformities
[ more ] 		0001155
Autosomal recessive inheritance 0000007
Micropenis
Short penis
Small penis
[ more ] 		0000054
Pigmentary retinopathy 0000580
Scrotal hypoplasia
Smaller than typical growth of scrotum
0000046
Spastic paraplegia 0001258
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Last updated: 7/1/2020

Making a diagnosis for a genetic or rare disease can often be challenging. Healthcare professionals typically look at a person’s medical history, symptoms, physical exam, and laboratory test results in order to make a diagnosis. The following resources provide information relating to diagnosis and testing for this condition. If you have questions about getting a diagnosis, you should contact a healthcare professional.

Testing Resources

  • The Genetic Testing Registry (GTR) provides information about the genetic tests for this condition. The intended audience for the GTR is health care providers and researchers. Patients and consumers with specific questions about a genetic test should contact a health care provider or a genetics professional.

If you need medical advice, you can look for doctors or other healthcare professionals who have experience with this disease. You may find these specialists through advocacy organizations, clinical trials, or articles published in medical journals. You may also want to contact a university or tertiary medical center in your area, because these centers tend to see more complex cases and have the latest technology and treatments.

If you can’t find a specialist in your local area, try contacting national or international specialists. They may be able to refer you to someone they know through conferences or research efforts. Some specialists may be willing to consult with you or your local doctors over the phone or by email if you can't travel to them for care.

You can find more tips in our guide, How to Find a Disease Specialist. We also encourage you to explore the rest of this page to find resources that can help you find specialists.

Healthcare Resources

These resources provide more information about this condition or associated symptoms. The in-depth resources contain medical and scientific language that may be hard to understand. You may want to review these resources with a medical professional.

In-Depth Information

  • GeneReviews provides current, expert-authored, peer-reviewed, full-text articles describing the application of genetic testing to the diagnosis, management, and genetic counseling of patients with specific inherited conditions.
  • The Monarch Initiative brings together data about this condition from humans and other species to help physicians and biomedical researchers. Monarch’s tools are designed to make it easier to compare the signs and symptoms (phenotypes) of different diseases and discover common features. This initiative is a collaboration between several academic institutions across the world and is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Visit the website to explore the biology of this condition.
  • Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) is a catalog of human genes and genetic disorders. Each entry has a summary of related medical articles. It is meant for health care professionals and researchers. OMIM is maintained by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. 
  • Orphanet is a European reference portal for information on rare diseases and orphan drugs. Access to this database is free of charge.
  • PubMed is a searchable database of medical literature and lists journal articles that discuss Laurence-Moon syndrome. Click on the link to view a sample search on this topic.

Questions sent to GARD may be posted here if the information could be helpful to others. We remove all identifying information when posting a question to protect your privacy. If you do not want your question posted, please let us know.

  1. Hufnagel RB, Amo G, Hein ND, Hersheson J, Prasad M, Anderson Y, et al.. Neuropathy target esterase impairments cause Oliver-McFarlane and Laurence-Moon syndromes. J Med Genet. February, 2015; 52(2):85-94. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25480986.
  2. LAURENCE-MOON SYNDROME. OMIM. March 2015; http://www.omim.org/entry/245800.
  3. Matthis Synofzik, MD, Robert Hufnagel, MD, PhD, and Stephan Züchner, MD, PhD. PNPLA6-Related Disorders. GeneReviews. June 2015; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK247161/.