INVESTIGATION OF THERMOREGULATORY CHARACTERISTICS IN PATIENTS WITH PRADER-WILLI-SYNDROME

A survey instrument is used to assess temperature regulation character istics in children with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) compared to 3 cont rol groups: sibs of PWS patients (SIB), neurodevelopmentally handicapp ed children (ND), and age and gender matched well children (WC). Signi ficant differences were found between PWS patients, SIB controls, and WC controls in the prevalence of febrile convulsions, fever-associated symptoms, and temperature less than 94 degrees F. No differences were noted in any variable between the PWS patients and the ND controls, s uggesting that these abnormalities are not unique to PWS, but can occu r in any neurodevelopmentally handicapped individual, further suggesti ng these do not necessarily reflect syndrome-specific hypothalamic abn ormalities. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.