Is there really a genetic disorder that causes a girl to never experience puberty?
Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare genetic disorder that is predominantly caused by the absence of genetic material on the long arm of the chromosome 15 contributed by the father. With this disease puberty is often delayed and sexual development is immature in both men and women. In males, undescended testicles are common and there is sparse growth of facial and body hair. In women, breast development may not be complete and menstruation may be delayed (as late as 25-35 years of age) or non-existent. There are no definite reports of either men or women with PWS having a child. Teenagers with PWS do not experience the growth spurt which usually occurs in the early teens and hence tend to be a few inches shorter than average: men average about 5’2″ (155cm) and women average about 4’10” (145cm). Growth hormone treatment may be given to help with growth and muscle tone, and sex hormomes (both male and female) to help with sexual development, but this will depend to some extent on the in
