Cold-induced sweating syndrome

Cold-induced sweating syndrome is characterized by problems with regulating body temperature and other abnormalities affecting many parts of the body. In infancy, the features of this condition are often known as Crisponi syndrome. Researchers originally thought that cold-induced sweating syndrome and Crisponi syndrome were separate disorders, but it is now widely believed that they represent the same condition at different times during life.

Infants with Crisponi syndrome have unusual facial features, including a flat nasal bridge, upturned nostrils, a long space between the nose and upper lip (philtrum), a high arched roof of the mouth (palate), a small chin (micrognathia), and low-set ears. The muscles in the lower part of the face are weak, leading to severe feeding difficulties, excessive drooling, and breathing problems. Other physical abnormalities associated with Crisponi syndrome include a scaly skin rash, an inability to fully extend the elbows, overlapping fingers and tightly fisted hands, and malformations of the feet and toes. Affected infants startle easily and often tense their facial muscles into a grimace-like expression. By six months of age, infants with Crisponi syndrome develop unexplained high fevers that increase the risk of seizures and sudden death.

Many of the health problems associated with Crisponi syndrome improve with time, and affected individuals who survive the newborn period go on to develop other features of cold-induced sweating syndrome in early childhood. Within the first decade of life, affected individuals begin having episodes of profuse sweating (hyperhidrosis) and shivering involving the face, torso, and arms. The excessive sweating is usually triggered by exposure to temperatures below about 65 or 70 degrees Fahrenheit, but it can also be triggered by nervousness or eating sugary foods. Paradoxically, affected individuals tend not to sweat in warmer conditions, instead becoming flushed and overheated in hot environments.

Adolescents with cold-induced sweating syndrome typically develop abnormal side-to-side and front-to-back curvature of the spine (scoliosis and kyphosis, often called kyphoscoliosis when they occur together). Although infants may develop life-threatening fevers, affected individuals who survive infancy have a normal life expectancy.