Figure 5.

Prader-Willi syndrome: clinical features and effects of OT. (A) Three-month-old baby born at term has symptoms of hypotonia, deficit of suckling and poor interest in food. Nasogastric tube, which is shown in the photo, is used in almost all PWS neonates to prevent failure to thrive for a mean of 1 month. Baby also exhibits facial dysmorphism, such as almond-shaped eyes, thin upper lip, down-turned corner of the mouth, narrow bi-frontal diameter and slight facial assymetria. Behaviorally, the baby shows low interest in mother and poor social skills in general. Ongoing treatment with OT shows positive trends in both stimulation of food intake and social bonding with the mother (further confirmation is needed). (B) Twenty-three-year-old male patient has a record of hyperphagia, deficit of satiety, obsession with food, dysmorphic features (scoliosis, kyphosis), autistic-like features (stereotype and repetitive movements, deficit of social skills and poor trust in others), anxiety, emotional liability (including emotional outbreaks), creation of stories filled with fantasies (termed as “fabulation”) and compulsive skin picking. The patient is under psychotropic treatments. First applications of OT seem to result in increase of trust, decrease in anxiety and attenuation of emotional outbreaks (further confirmation is needed). Photos are reproduced here with permission of Prof. Maithé Tauber.