TURNER WHAT ???

As I was researching for this month's topic, I came across a disability that left me with that question swimming in my head, and it was perplexing enough, I decided to provide my readers with information for it.

TURNER'S SYNDROME, also referred to as Monosomy X; Bonnevie-Ullrich Syndrome; Gonadal Dysgenesis, is a female disorder caused by a partially missing or total absence of one of the x chromosomes, affecting sexual development, resulting in infertility.

1 in every 3,000 births concern a female child with the unpreventable missing x chromosone or Turner's Syndrome, it is diagnosed in either stage of a female's development, birth or puberty, depending on the physical evidence present. It is equal among all races, countries or socio-economic people, undiscriminating and random in who it chooses to affict.

Signs or symptoms of this disorder include:

· short height · web like neck · low hairline · drooping eyelids · abnormal bone development · missing or slow development of physical features that normally appear at puberty · decreased tearing of the eyes · no menstruation · a single crease in the palm of their hands · a "caved-in" appearance to the chest · abnormal development of the arms

Upon examination a doctor will normally find undeveloped genitalia, and blood work with disclose other abnormalities, namely 45 chromosomes, a level of Serum luteinizing hormone higher than the norm, and an elevated level of Serum follicle stimulating hormone. Other serum and urine tests may also be altered as the result of the disorder.

Females with this disorder are not mentally retarded, but may have an easier time with verbal learning, and difficulties with math or spatial problems.

Treatment is normally of a supportive nature with growth hormone replacement sometimes implemented to help a girl grow to a normal height. Estrogen therapy can also be administered to assist with the development of secondary sexual traits, so that they will appear more normally as a female adult. Unfortunately, no treatment can or will reverse the infertility that results with this disorder. Modern reproductive technologies have also been used to help women with Turner Syndrome become pregnant, with a donor egg used to create an embryo which is carried by a Turner Syndrome woman.

Medical conditions associated with Turner's Syndrome include:

· Lack of sexual maturity · kidney abnormalities · high blood pressure · obesity · diabetes mellitus · Hashimoto's thyroiditis · cataracts · arthritis

Keep in mind, not every girl or woman with Turner's Syndrome has to deal with all the possible medical conditions associated with it. Heart, kidney or thyroid problems are the most commonly encountered.

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