The gradual decrement of FMRP production from normal to none can be observed in the severity of the symptoms. The behavioral phenotypes include anxiety disorders, memory problems, difficulty with face encoding, and slowed mental development. These symptoms are also seen in individuals with autism and other mental retardations and can be used to identify a person with Fragile X. Most but not all, females with Fragile X have less severe symptoms because of their second X chromosome. Individuals with fragile X syndrome appear normal at birth but experience delayed development over time. Fragile X syndrome affects males and females of all ethnic groups. It is estimated that there are about one in 4,000 to one in 6,250 males affected with fragile X syndrome. There are approximately one-half as many females with fragile X syndrome as there are males. The carrier frequency in unaffected females is one in 100 to one in 600, with one study finding a carrier frequency of one in 250.
Visual Oriention
Eye problems have not been found develop in accordance with mental age in individuals with fragile X. But patients with the syndrome have showed delayed voluntary orienting. The group differences in reflexive orienting between individuals with down and fragile X syndrome at the low mental age level reinforce the practice of separating etiologies and highlight the contribution of basic attentional processes in the study of people with mental retardation.
Ophthalmologic problems include strabismus (lazy eye). This requires early identification to avoid amblyopia. Surgery and/or patching are usually necessary to treat strabismus if diagnosed early. Refractive errors in patients with fragile X are also common.
The gradual decrement of FMRP production from normal to none can be observed in the severity of the symptoms. The behavioral phenotypes include anxiety disorders, memory problems, difficulty with face encoding, and slowed mental development. These symptoms are also seen in individuals with autism and other mental retardations and can be used to identify a person with Fragile X. Most but not all, females with Fragile X have less severe symptoms because of their second X chromosome. Individuals with fragile X syndrome appear normal at birth but experience delayed development over time. Fragile X syndrome affects males and females of all ethnic groups. It is estimated that there are about one in 4,000 to one in 6,250 males affected with fragile X syndrome. There are approximately one-half as many females with fragile X syndrome as there are males. The carrier frequency in unaffected females is one in 100 to one in 600, with one study finding a carrier frequency of one in 250.
Visual Oriention
Eye problems have not been found develop in accordance with mental age in individuals with fragile X. But patients with the syndrome have showed delayed voluntary orienting. The group differences in reflexive orienting between individuals with down and fragile X syndrome at the low mental age level reinforce the practice of separating etiologies and highlight the contribution of basic attentional processes in the study of people with mental retardation.
Ophthalmologic problems include strabismus (lazy eye). This requires early identification to avoid amblyopia. Surgery and/or patching are usually necessary to treat strabismus if diagnosed early. Refractive errors in patients with fragile X are also common.