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

Worster Drought syndrome



Other Names:
Suprabulbar paresis congenital; Congenital suprabulbar paresis
Categories:

Worster-Drought syndrome (WDS) is a condition that affects the muscles of the mouth and throat; it is considered a type of cerebral palsy.[1]  The main symptoms of WDS include difficulties with drooling, swallowing and speaking.  Some affected individuals may also have challenges with intelligence, behavior, or seizures.  The cause of WDS is currently unknown, though it is believed that both genetic and environmental factors influence the development of this condition.[2][1]
Last updated: 5/2/2013

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.

Showing of 14 |
Medical Terms Other Names
Learn More:
HPO ID
80%-99% of people have these symptoms
Abnormal cranial nerve morphology 0001291
Neurological speech impairment
Speech disorder
Speech impairment
Speech impediment
[ more ]
0002167
30%-79% of people have these symptoms
Cognitive impairment
Abnormality of cognition
Cognitive abnormality
Cognitive defects
Cognitive deficits
Intellectual impairment
Mental impairment
[ more ]
0100543
Hyperreflexia
Increased reflexes
0001347
5%-29% of people have these symptoms
Microcephaly
Abnormally small skull
Decreased circumference of cranium
Decreased size of skull
Reduced head circumference
Small head circumference
[ more ]
0000252
Seizure 0001250
Sensorineural hearing impairment 0000407
Tetraplegia
Paralysis of all four limbs
0002445
Percent of people who have these symptoms is not available through HPO
Autosomal dominant inheritance 0000006
Drooling
Dribbling
0002307
Dysarthria
Difficulty articulating speech
0001260
EEG abnormality 0002353
Intellectual disability
Mental deficiency
Mental retardation
Mental retardation, nonspecific
Mental-retardation
[ more ]
0001249
Muscle weakness
Muscular weakness
0001324
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Last updated: 7/1/2020

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


Related diseases are conditions that have similar signs and symptoms. A health care provider may consider these conditions in the table below when making a diagnosis. Please note that the table may not include all the possible conditions related to this disease.

Conditions with similar signs and symptoms from Orphanet
The main differential diagnosis is the bilateral perisylvian polymicrogyria (see this term) which manifests with severe epilepsy Clinical overlap of WDS with congenital bilateral perisylvian polymicrogyria and Foix-Chavany-Marie syndrome (see these terms) has been noted. Some authors propose that these three conditions represent a continuum.
Visit the Orphanet disease page for more information.

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

  • 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 Worster Drought 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. Submit a new question

  • Our son has Worster-Drought syndrome.  What is the liklihood of our daughter passing on the syndrome to any of her future children? See answer



  1. Clark M, Carr L, Reilly S, Neville BG. Worster-Drought syndrome, a mild tetraplegic perisylvian cerebral palsy. Review of 47 cases. Brain. 2000; 123:2160-2170. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11004132. Accessed 5/1/2013.
  2. Clark M, Harris R, Jolleff N, Price K, Neville BG. Worster-Drought syndrome: poorly recognized despite severe and persistent difficulties with feeding and speech. Developmental medicine and child neurology. 2010; 52:27-32. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19824895. Accessed 5/1/2013.