How common is Williams syndrome?

Frequency. Williams syndrome affects an estimated 1 in 7,500 to 18,000 people.

What is the chance of getting Williams syndrome?

Williams syndrome is a rare condition that occurs in an estimated 1 in every 10,000 births in the United States.

How common is Williams syndrome in the world?

WS affects 1 in 7,500 people worldwide – an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 people in the United States. It is known to occur equally in both males and females and in every culture. Children with Williams syndrome tend to be social, friendly, and endearing.

What is the life expectancy for Williams syndrome?

What is the life expectancy of someone with Williams Syndrome? Williams Syndrome does not generally cause a significant reduction in life expectancy unless there is a significant heart or kidney condition.

At what age are you most likely diagnosed with Williams syndrome?

Williams syndrome is usually diagnosed before a child is 4 years old. Your doctor will do an exam and ask about your family medical history. Then the doctor will look for facial features like an upturned nose, wide forehead, and small teeth.

Williams Syndrome, Causes, Signs and Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment.

Why does Williams syndrome happen?

Causes. Williams syndrome is caused by not having a copy of 25 to 27 genes on chromosome number 7. In most cases, the gene changes (mutations) occur on their own, either in the sperm or egg that a baby develops from. However, once someone carries the genetic change, their children have a 50% chance of inheriting it.

Does Williams syndrome run in families?

Williams syndrome can also, rarely, be inherited from a parent who has the condition. In the rare event the condition is inherited, it is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner. This means that just one copy of the altered chromosome 7 is enough to cause the condition.

Can Williams syndrome have normal intelligence?

Most individuals with Williams syndrome have a degree of intellectual disability, ranging from mild to severe. Research studies have suggested that IQ scores for children with Williams syndrome range from 40 to 112, with a mean IQ score of 68 which equates to a mild intellectual disability (average IQ is 100).

What celebrities have Williams syndrome?

One notable person with the syndrome is Gabrielle Marion-Rivard, a Canadian actress and singer who won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Actress in 2014 for her performance in the film Gabrielle. Another is Jeremy Vest, member of the How's Your News? team, featured in the TV series and film of the same name.

Why are Williams syndrome people friendly?

Scientists realized it was related to the levels of oxytocin. They knew that oxytocin is involved in social/intimacy behaviors, like mother-child bonding or romantic encounters. And they found that people with Williams syndrome have a lot more oxytocin than everybody else, and that it fluctuates wildly in the brain.

What are people with Williams syndrome good at?

People with Williams syndrome typically have difficulty with visual-spatial tasks such as drawing and assembling puzzles, but they tend to do well on tasks that involve spoken language, music, and learning by repetition (rote memorization).

Is Williams syndrome a form of retardation?

Williams syndrome is caused by a microdeletion of at least 16 genes on chromosome 7q11. 23. The syndrome results in mild to moderate mental retardation or learning disability. The behavioral phenotype for Williams syndrome is characterized by a distinctive cognitive profile and an unusual personality profile.

Is Williams syndrome a type of autism?

Autism and Williams syndrome are genetically based neurodevelopmental disorders that present strikingly different social phenotypes. Autism involves fundamental impairments in social reciprocity and communication, whereas people with Williams syndrome are highly sociable and engaging.

Can Williams syndrome be detected on ultrasound?

Using prenatal BACs-on-Beads technology, the first prenatal case of Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS) was diagnosed. In light of this result, an ultrasound scan confirmed the presence of well-characterized features of WBS.

Is Williams syndrome associated with autism?

Infants with Williams syndrome stare at other people's eyes and babies with autism avoid eye contact. However, several individuals with Williams syndrome are also diagnosed with autism. This suggests that they share an underlying mechanism and understanding one disorder can shed light on the other.

Can people with Williams syndrome talk?

Communication difficulties: Most children with Williams syndrome develop speech skills later than other children their age. With intervention, most children develop the ability to communicate wants and needs effectively. In fact, for many children with Williams syndrome, expressive language may be a relative strength.

What is unusual about many people with Williams syndrome?

Newborns with Williams syndrome have characteristic “elfin-like” facial features including an unusually small head (microcephaly), full cheeks, an abnormally broad forehead, puffiness around the eyes and lips, a depressed nasal bridge, broad nose, and/or an unusually wide and prominent open mouth.

Is Williams syndrome a form of Down's syndrome?

Williams syndrome and Down syndrome are both chromosomal disorders affecting people from birth. However, Williams syndrome is caused by a missing chromosome, while Down syndrome is caused by an extra chromosome.

Can people with Williams syndrome go to college?

Individuals with Williams syndrome attend a wide-range of post-high school programs - from full inclusion without supports in a 4-year college, to day programming for life-skills and vocational training, and many different options in between.

What is the most common cause of death for people with Williams syndrome?

Cardiovascular Features of Williams Syndrome

Cardiovascular defects are the most common cause of death in patients with WS.

Is Williams syndrome associated with ADHD?

Children with Williams syndrome frequently present with symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but there is little information that stimulant medication is useful in this population.

Does Williams syndrome affect behavior?

Williams syndrome is associated with poor social inhibition that may in part in be related to deficits in inhibition in general (Porter et al., 2007). For example, individuals with WS may approach others such as strangers due to a reduced ability to inhibit the urge to socially interact with others.

Do children with Williams syndrome have theory of mind?

Earlier work has demonstrated that people with Williams syndrome appear to be spared in the social-perceptual component of a theory of mind.

Does Williams syndrome affect the brain?

Williams syndrome is associated with altered structure and function within brain regions important for face processing. The fusiform gyrus is located on the inferior medial surface of the temporal lobe and is functionally involved in object and face recognition.

What is it like to live with Williams syndrome?

People with Williams syndrome tend to be outgoing and very interested in other people. They are very empathetic toward others but also have high anxiety, often accompanied by phobias. Attention deficit disorder (ADD) is also common among people with Williams syndrome.