Prader Willi Syndrome Research Paper

Zoe Dalessandri #4
Miss Roth
English Period 4 H
22 March 2017
A Lifetime of Hunger The rare condition Prader Willi Syndrome affects 1 in 10,000 to 30,000 people worldwide. Although this is considered a rare condition it 's actually one of the main reasons there are so many obese people today. “PWS affects males and females in equal numbers and occurs in all ethnic groups and geographic regions in the world. Most estimates place the incidence between 1 in 10,000-30,000 individuals in the general population” (Butler n.p.). Prader Willi Syndrome was discovered in 1956 after Andrea Prader, Alexis Labhart, and Heinrich Willi noticed nine children with the same characteristics of PWS. Prader Willi Syndrome is a genetic disorder that is incurable

The genetic disorder Prader Willi Syndrome causes difference in appearance and bodily function. For example, when children are born there are certain character traits that make them look different from other children. There are distinctive features that are prevalent among people that are affected by Prader Willi Syndrome. “Additional features of this condition include distinctive facial features such as a narrow forehead, almond-shaped eyes, and a triangular mouth; short stature; and small hands and feet” (Bittel Butler n.p.). The bodily function of people with this disorder are also affected by things such as their low and diminished muscle tone. In The New York Times Magazine Article Rhoda Ross-Williams the mother of a child with Prader Willi Syndrome said, ...“When Rachelle was born, her limbs flopped, she couldn’t suckle or cry and her heart and lungs were weak. The diagnosis was a rare chromosomal abnormality called Prader-­Willi syndrome, which causes low muscle tone and impairs signaling between the brain and the stomach” ( Tingley n.p.). These reasons make it visible and easier to point out the different effects Prader Willi has on people with the

This essay isn 't a way to show how disabled people with Prader Willi are, these people affected want to be independent but can 't always be depending on the severity of the condition and if personal care is possible. “Are you ready to go to teenager college?” Rhoda Ross-Williams asked her 13-year-old daughter. “You really want to leave us?”“Mm-hmm,” Rachelle said. She had pulled off her pajamas and was sitting on the toilet so her mother could bathe her. At 4-foot-7 and 278 pounds, she could no longer step over the side of the tub to take a shower” (Tingley n.p.). In the first body paragraph it is showed why this condition has developed and how it can either be inherited or just happens as a complete accident. Next, Prader Willi is explained in how it can change the appearance and even personality of anyone with PWS. Finally, the biggest thing that occurs to people with Prader Willi Syndrome, chronic overeating and the feeling of always being hungry. Furthermore, the thesis explains and shows examples of what people with PWS go through and face because of this syndrome. In conclusion, Prader Willi Syndrome is a rare and incurable condition that delays the development, changes the appearance, and makes the affected eat uncontrollably. Work Cited
Bittel DC, and Butler MG, et.al. "Prader-Willi syndrome - Genetics Home
Reference." U.S. National Library of Medicine. National Institutes of Health, June 2014. Web. 01 Mar. 2017. .
Butler, Merlin G. et.al. "Prader Willi