{"id":4447,"date":"2019-02-26T08:41:40","date_gmt":"2019-02-26T08:41:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.today\/?p=4447"},"modified":"2021-03-29T14:41:26","modified_gmt":"2021-03-29T14:41:26","slug":"20-symptoms-of-prader-willi-syndrome-from-birth-to-adulthood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplyhealth.today\/20-symptoms-of-prader-willi-syndrome-from-birth-to-adulthood\/","title":{"rendered":"20 Symptoms of Prader Willi Syndrome From Birth to Adulthood"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Prader-Willi Syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that happens because of the interruption of specific genes and how they work in affecting the body\u2019s growth and development; while statistics estimate that as much as 1 in 30, 000 of total births every year might be diagnosed with PWS, the statistics aren\u2019t clear on just how much of the population is really born with Prader-Willi syndrome every year, and it might be an even higher statistic if clearer data about the condition\u2019s prevalence were available.
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Genetic factors play a considerably huge role in the prevalence of the condition, with as much as 70% of cases resulting from a direct gene defect passed on from the male \u2013 while the rest of the cases are accounted for by extra chromosomes from the mother\u2019s side.
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Here are 8 symptoms of Prader-Willi Syndrome (or PWS) that you can expect to see from birth to adulthood.
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1. Nagging Hunger<\/strong>
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A nagging and repetitive feeling of being hungry that seems to have no other, practical cause is one of the first symptoms that doctors will look for when diagnosing a case of PWS.  Eating often has little to no effect on the actual hunger itself, and it\u2019s usually back within just a few minutes of having eaten something.
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When diagnosing PWS, experts will rule out other causes for hunger first, such as any potential digestive issues.
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This symptom <\/a>usually starts to show itself in early infancy and can manifest in the form of a grumpy infant that isn\u2019t soothed in spite of various attempts at feeding and changing. Combined with some of the other symptoms on this list, all of them can be symptoms or warning signs of PWS.
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Hormonal therapy can oftentimes go a long way towards treating the nagging feeling of hunger that\u2019s associated with the condition.
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2. Obesity<\/strong>
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Obesity <\/a>is one of the most common symptoms of Prader-Willi syndrome, and it is usually another one of the symptoms that can occur in early childhood. This symptom occurs due to the way Prader-Willi syndrome affects the digestive system and the ways in which the body is able to process what we take in through food.
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Monitoring the fluctuation of a child\u2019s weight is one of the most important reasons why you should make regular appointments with a pediatrician throughout the year; if these weight fluctuations are too drastic, they can help to tell the doctor about an underlying health condition that\u2019s causing this.
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In most cases of PWS, obesity has to be controlled and managed as an entirely separate health condition, and constant monitoring of weight (and regular adaptations to the daily diet) is necessary for PWS even throughout adulthood. Without this, obesity can have many associated health risks.
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3. Diabetes<\/strong>
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Children who are born with PWS are more likely to develop type II diabetes<\/a>, and in many cases, the symptom can even be picked up shortly after birth; this can lead to a lot of necessary adaptations to diet in order to reduce the risk of further health complications that might override the system, and specialist help is often needed in order to maintain the right diet and life choices to manage this symptom even into adulthood.
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Diabetes automatically creates a higher risk of strokes, heart attacks and issues related to blood sugar, and needs to be managed more like an entirely separate condition on its own rather than just a symptom of something else alone.
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A healthy diet and lifestyle should be combined for the best possible results, and while PWS itself can\u2019t be cured, the symptoms associated with it can be effectively managed with a doctor\u2019s help.
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4. Sterility<\/strong>
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It\u2019s a very common symptom for people who are born with Prader-Willi syndrome to be entirely sterile <\/a>from birth in the case of both men and female cases.
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This isn\u2019t something that should just be taken at face value as an automatically associated symptom if someone you know has been diagnosed with PWS, but a doctor might still want to do tests to establish, among other factors, the sterility factor in individual cases.
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After the initial diagnosis of PWS, it\u2019s likely that the doctor might want to order further tests in order to establish if there are any of the associated symptoms or conditions of PWS involved. The majority of these tests are simple and not invasive at all \u2013 and the results at the end of the test can only be a good thing for the rest of your health that helps to manage the condition easier from then on.
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5. Scoliosis<\/strong>
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Mild to moderate scoliosis is one of the identifying symptoms that might be associated with a diagnosis of WPS, although it\u2019s true that this symptom doesn\u2019t always appear in early childhood, and the curvature of the spine that defines scoliosis might only happen in adolescence \u2013 or even later on in life.
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Scoliosis <\/a>alone isn\u2019t one of the only symptoms, and it will likely be considered in combination with some of the other characteristic symptoms of WPS; when someone develops scoliosis, the first thing that doctors will do is often to order tests and X-rays so that the degree of scoliosis (and the lifestyle changes that are needed to best manage it) can be established.
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There are many other things that have the potential to cause scoliosis, including connective tissue disorders, and doctors will have to rule out all other potential causes of this symptom first before they continue treatment.
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6. Sleep Disorders<\/strong>
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Sleep disorders are often one of the very characteristic symptoms of WPS, and the majority of diagnosed cases will experience some form of sleep disorder during their lifetime. This is most commonly related to insomnia<\/a>, the chronic inability to sleep, but there are other sleep disorders that might also accompany this, including sleepwalking.
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Any kind of sleep disorder, even when it happens to be an associated symptom of something else like WPS, will have to be managed as an entirely separate condition by a team of medical professionals; in some cases, a few lifestyle changes and coping techniques are enough to help restore a sleeping routine to normal, but in other instances, medication can be used to help control the sleep cycle.
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Where the specific sleep disorder isn\u2019t clear and more study is needed, experts rely on sleep clinics and the statistics they\u2019re able to provide about individual sleeping patterns.
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7. Thin Upper Lip<\/strong>
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Cases of WPS are often characterized by diagnosing <\/a>through a list of different symptoms and a combination of tests, and doctors will rely on several different diagnostic techniques in order to establish what to do next; WPS has many characteristic physical symptoms, one of which can include a typically thin upper lip.
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This is a symptom that is known to occur in the majority of cases, except for a few rare exceptions, and it\u2019s one of the first things which a doctor will look for when they\u2019re looking to diagnose the condition. The thin upper lip doesn\u2019t usually lead to any complications later on in life, nor is it something that the majority of people ever think to have surgically altered \u2013 it just happens to be one of the physical characteristics of the disorder that happens to help when doctors are looking to diagnose the disorder based on physical symptoms.
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8.  Learning Difficulties<\/strong>
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Learning difficulties are a common symptom associated with WPS, and it\u2019s another symptom that happens in the majority of WPS cases. It\u2019s also one of the first symptoms that can lead to a diagnosis of the condition if it was missed earlier on in childhood; carers, teachers and parents will usually notice learning disabilities <\/a>when the child struggles to perform at the expected rate of progress in school and at other tasks, and this usually warrants further investigation into the cause.
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In most cases of WPS, learning difficulties can manifest well into adulthood \u2013 but can be successfully managed with the right treatment and coping techniques when this is the case.
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If any learning difficulties or slow progress is noticed, make an appointment with a therapeutic expert who understands learning difficulties and can help to diagnose the cause: This is important even when learning difficulties appear without any other WPS symptoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\r\n

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