Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is characterized by severe hypotonia and feeding difficulties in early infancy, followed in later infancy or early childhood by excessive eating and gradual development of morbid obesity (unless eating is externally controlled). Motor milestones and language development are delayed. All individuals have some degree of cognitive impairment. A distinctive behavioral phenotype (with temper tantrums, stubbornness, manipulative behavior, and obsessive-compulsive characteristics) is common. Hypogonadism is present in both males and females and manifests as genital hypoplasia, incomplete pubertal development, and, in most, infertility. Short stature is common (if not treated with growth hormone); characteristic facial features, strabismus, and scoliosis are often present.

This syndrome has characteristics of severe intellectual deficit, patella luxations, acromicria, hypogonadism, facial dysmorphism (including midface hypoplasia and premature frontotemporal balding). It has been described in three unrelated males.

Isolated growth hormone deficiency type IB (IGH1B) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by low but detectable levels of GH, short stature (more than 2 SD below the mean for age and sex), delayed bone age, and a good response to rhGH treatment without antibody formation (summary by Alatzoglou et al., 2014). For general phenotypic information and a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of IGHD, see 262400.