Kleinfelter's Syndrome

Symptoms
Symptoms of Klinefelter's Syndrome include three main categories of symptoms. These symptoms effect physical, social, and language development. The degree to which these symptoms are present depends on a number of factors including the age of the individual, the level of testosterone being produced, and the number of extra X chromosomes present.

Physical symptoms can include reduced strength, lack of muslce tone, and inhibited development of movements. For example, infants with Klinefelter's may learn to crawl or walk much later than normal children. As growth continues, males with Klinefelter's will be taller, but have less muscle mass than males of a similar age. Since testosterone production is usually reduced, teenage boys with the disorder will generally be taller, less muscular, and have less facial and body hair than other boys. They may also develop larger hips or breasts that are not present on other boys that age. Internal symptoms can also be noticed, such as reduction in energy level and weakening of the bones. A very common symptom of Klinefelter's in infertility because males with the disorder produce little or no sperm. More recent studies have also began to suggest that males diagnosed with Klinefelter's are also at a greater risk for developing diabetes.

Other symptoms can impair lanuage development in males with the disorder. Language impairing symptoms are less common than the physical symptoms of the disorder. These impairments include the inability to or problems comprehending things that are heard, slower than usual development of ability to speak, and once speech is learned there are often problems with using speech to convey thoughts or feelings. Reading and writing can also be affected by the impaired development of language.

Social symptoms include a tendency to be quiet or socially awkward. Males with Klinefelter's are usually shy and less self-confident and may have trouble in school or trouble fitting in with their peers. However, despite these social symptoms, males with Klinefelter's can generally lead a fairly normal social life and can still develop social relationships.

Detection
Klinefelter's syndrome remains largely undiagnosed due to its minor physical symptoms that do not prompt immediate alarm. The physical symptoms include such a vast diversity that medical professionals do not recognize the cause as Klinefelter's syndrome. Most males are unaware they posses and entra x chromosome until confronted with thier apparent infirtility, or alarmed by their unusually small, hard testes.

How common is the disorder in the human population