Symptoms

    Although Prader-Willi Syndrome affects only 1 in 12,000 newborns, awareness of the disorder continues to grow. Physicians now can usually diagnose the syndrome at birth, although it's not uncommon for adults to discover much later in life that their struggles with food and muscular coordination are linked to actual physical causes. Symptoms can vary among individuals, but the most common are listed here:

• Poor muscle tone (hypotonia)
• Insatiable appetite, begging around 3 years of age
• Tendency to gain weight with fewer calories
• Small hands and feet, narrow forehead, short stature
• Cognitive limitations (IQ's typically range 40-100)
• Speech and language difficulties
• Poor balance and coordination, limited fine motor skills
• Frequent temper tantrums or outbursts concerning food
• Dental problems due to soft tooth enamel and sticky saliva

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