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Prader-Willi syndrome

Other Names for this Disease
  • Obesity, muscular hypotonia, mental retardation, short stature, hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, and small hands and feet
  • Prader Labhart Willi syndrome
  • PWS
  • Willi-Prader syndrome
More Names
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Overview


Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a complex genetic condition that affects many parts of the body.[1] At birth, babies with PWS have poor muscle tone and a weak cry. Initially, they are slow feeders and appear undernourished. The feeding problems improve after infancy and often between 2 to 4 years of age, children with PWS become very focused on food and have difficulty controlling their appetite. The overeating often results in rapid weight gain and obesity. Individuals with PWS also often have developmental delays and less-than-average adult height. PSW is caused by missing or non-working genes on chromosome 15. Most cases are not inherited, but occur randomly.[2][3]


References

  1. Prader-Willi syndrome. Genetics Home Reference (GHR). http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=praderwillisyndrome. Accessed March 24, 2011.
  2. O'Reilly D. Prader-Willi syndrome. MedlinePlus. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001605.htm. Accessed March 24, 2011.
  3. Cassidy SB, Schwartz S. Prader-Willi Syndrome. GeneReviews. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1330/. Accessed March 24, 2011.
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General Information

  • The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) provides information related to the health of children, adults, and families. Click on the link to view information on this topic. 
  • Genetics Home Reference (GHR) contains information on Prader-Willi syndrome. Click on the link to go to GHR and review the information.
  • MedlinePlus, a Web site designed by the National Library of Medicine to help you research your health questions, provides more information about this topic. Click on the link to view this information.
  • The National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) is a federation of more than 130 nonprofit voluntary health organizations serving people with rare disorders. Click on the link to view information on this topic.
  • Orphanet is a European reference portal for information on rare diseases and orphan drugs.  Access to this database is free of charge.  Click on the link to read information on this topic.
  • PubMed is a searchable database of medical literature and lists journal articles that discuss Prader-Willi syndrome. Click on the link to view a sample search on this topic.
  • The The Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) database contains genetics resources that discuss Prader-Willi syndrome. Click on the link to go to OMIM and review these resources.