Spondylometaphyseal dysplasia Algerian type (MIM no.: 184253) is an uncommon autosomal dominant skeletal dysplasia caused by heterozygous mutations in the COL2A1 gene (MIM no.: 120140). In this case based review, we reported a 5-year-old boy with short stature, severe dorsolumbar scoliosis, lumbar hyperlordosis, short trunk, and severe genu valgum . Radiological examination showed platyspondyly, irregular metaphyseal radiolucencies intermingled with radiodensities, and corner fractures. The patient has a c.3275G > A; p.Gly1092Asp mutation in exon 47 of the COL2A1 gene and a variant of unknown significance in c.1366-13C > A in intron 21. This latter sequence variant could partially or completely disrupt the natural splice acceptor site of intron 21/exon 22 in the COL2A1 gene leading to a potential modification of the phenotypic severity.

Spondylometaphyseal dysplasia Algerian type (SMD-A) is an autosomal dominant disorder that was first reported in an Algerian family by Kozlowski et al. [Pediatr Radiol 1988;18:221-226]. Kozlowski\'s group reported a sporadic case in a 12-year-old Polish boy. They proposed SMD-A as a distinctive skeletal dysplasia and also suggested that a case of SMD reported by Schmidt et al. [J Pediatr 1963;63:106-112] might have had the same disorder. Afterwards, however, no additional report has emerged to date. In addition, the question whether SMD-A belongs to type II collagenopathy (a group of disorders due to a heterozygous mutation of COL2A1) has been continuously under debate. Here we report a 7-year-old Japanese boy with a heterozygous missense mutation in COL2A1, 2582G>T (Gly861Val), whose phenotype matched that of SMD-A. Our observation supports the hypothesis that SMD-A is a variant of type II collagenopathy.