Patau syndrome is a disorder developing due to abnormal chromosomes inherited by birth. Presence of extra genes in chromosome number 13 is known as Patau syndrome or Trisomy 13. Children born with this syndrome would have severe mental dysfunction in addition to physical abnormalities. Extra number of chromosome is present in all the cells when the baby is formed causing severe intellectual and physical problems. Such children would have birth defects in the heart, brain and various other vital organs due to unwanted chromosome distribution in the entire body cells. Exact cause of Patau syndrome is not known and there is no cure for this disorder.
Symptoms
Children born with Patau syndrome will have marked physical problems from eyes to foot. They would be born with defective heart, defective spine and underdeveloped eyes. Brain would have serious anatomical defects and it may not divide properly. There would be a cleft lip (small opening) along with cleft palate (small opening in the mouth). The muscle tone will be very weak leading to hypotonia.
The baby may have extra finger in hands and foot. Owing to the various physical problems these infants would be stillborn or may get aborted in the uterus. In rare cases only the baby survives birth but may live only for few weeks. In addition to the above physical abnormalities such children would have severe intellectual impairment.
How Common Is It?
Patau Syndrome or Trisomy 13 is very rare disorder. Statistics say that one out of 16,000 births would be of this syndrome.
Risk Factors
Women having close relatives infants born with Patau syndrome are at risk of passing on the disorder to her baby. Women who give birth after 35 years have slight risk of developing genetically abnormal baby.
Trisomy 13 Causes
Patau syndrome is a genetic disorder. The affected child would have 3 identical copies (hence the name Trisomy) of chromosome 13 (instead of 2) in each and every cell of the body. Extra genetic material would have been migrated during the formation of chromosome 13 from another part leading to Trisomy 13. This may occur as and while fusion takes place between the eggs and sperm forming a zygote.