Under Tan syndrome: is it reverse evolution or mental illness? This is what I hope to discover and explore through this paper. Uner Tan Syndrome is a rare disease where people walk on all fours. They walk with quadrupedal locomotion, commonly referred to as wrist walking. “ It is a condition that in its most extreme form is characterized by cerebellar hypoplasia.” (Shapiro LJ 2014, p.1). Humans with Uner Tan Syndrome show lack of cognitive ability, mental retardation, loss of balance, primitive speech and a quadrupedal gait (walking on four feet). Biologist Uner Tan was in Turkey when he discovered Uner Tan syndrome. He came across this syndrome in 2005, when he caught wind of the Ulas family, a family of 19 who had 5 children who walked …show more content…
The exceptions Not all individuals with Uner Tan Syndrome display signs of mental retardation or cerebellar atrophy, although all were seen to be quadrupeds, walking on all fours. (Shapiro et al. 2014) Mustafa, a 36-year-old male from Adana was reported to have had the illness poliomyelitis as a child, which caused him to become a wrist watcher and have one paralyzed leg. MRI scans showed that Mustafa had no abnormalities in his brain including the cortex, cerebellum, corpus callosum, cerebellar vermis and basal ganglia. He also showed signs of normal, slightly delayed speech but nothing severe. He could travel quite fast on all four legs, so unlike some other participants it looks like Mustafa just preferred wrist walking to upright walking. Mustafa is an exception to Uner Tan syndrome because he does not display any sort or mental retardation, and has a healthy brain. However, because he does walk on all fours he is still said to have Uner Tan syndrome. So my question was: why was Mustafa Walking on all fours? Comfort? Socially learned behavior? I will get back to Mustafa’s story later on. (Tan …show more content…
It was noticed that the men who are quadrupeds walk with their palms down and woman on their fists with their fingers curled in. This may be on account of their ratios, that men have longer arms. When the women put their hands straight they are hyperextended. (Tan 2006). They were shown to have very little mobility in their hands aside from walking on them. Things like eating or tying a shoelace proved to be an up-most difficulty which most of the time resulted in tremors and lengthy time to do such tasks. Speech Either very little or no speech is what the individuals with Uner Tan syndrome were said to have. In some cases the individuals could not do more then grunt and make humming like sounds. Others showed basic speech, speaking in short sentences with very few words. They had a hard time naming and describing objects. However, it did come off as they could understand the researchers, but could not communicate back very well. This is most likely due to mental retardation. The
On September 29, 1993, Robert Wendland, then age 42, was involved in a vehicle accident. He was in a coma for 16 months. In January 1995, Mr. Wendland came out of the coma, but he remains severely cognitively impaired. He is paralyzed on the right side. He communicates using a "Yes/No" communication board. He receives food and fluids through a feeding tube. During rehabilitation, he has been able to do such activities as grasp and release a ball, operate an electric wheelchair with a joystick, move himself in a manual wheelchair with his left hand or foot, balance himself momentarily in a "standing frame" while grabbing and pulling "thera-putty," draw the letter "R," and choose and replace requested color blocks out of several color choices.
For example, our text describes two symptoms of ASD; 1. social communications and interactions 2. and limited patterns of repetitive behavior, interests, and or activities. This was all evident in the “Neurotypical” documentary. For example, Nicholas was unable to interact with girls or form relationships he believes he has nothing in common with them. Wolf suggested that autistic children are good at mimicking others and that nonverbal cues are important to watch out for. Violet, on the other hand, has a habit of repeating behaviors; she will repeat anything her parents say. In the text it also says severity of language problems vary child to child. In Violets case she does not fall under the mute category but instead she is able to speak in a few words, cry, and even laugh. Our text introduces the term for repetitive speech, echolalia. Violet tends to repeat a word or words her parents say either right away when she hears it or later
Rett syndrome is a progressive neurological disorder that affects almost exclusively in females. The most basic symptoms include decreased speech, cognitive disabilities, severe lack of muscle control, small head size, and unusual hand movements. A woman with a mutation in her MECP2 gene, has a 50% risk with any pregnancy to pass on her X chromosome with the mutation. It is not common for women with Rett syndrome to have children because the severity of the disorder. The mutated gene on the X chromosome that is responsible for causing Rett syndrome is the methyl CpG-binding protein 2, MECP2 gene. The gene makes a protein that controls other genes. When a mutation occurs in the MECP2, the protein it makes does not work properly. This is thought to counteract normal neuron, nerve cell development. The severity of the syndrome in females is related to the type of mutation in the MECP2 gene and the percentage of cells that carry a normal copy of the MECP2 gene. Rett syndrome is believed to affect all ethnic groups and nationalities with an equal frequency of about 1 case for every 10,000 to 15,000 live female births.
Bipedalism is a form of locomotion that is on two feet and is the one factor that separates humans from other forms of hominoids. The first bipeds are believed to have lived in Africa between 5 and 8 million years ago. (Haviland et al. 2011, pg. 78). The evolution to bipedalism resulted in various anatomical changes. To be able to balance on two legs, the skull must be centered over the spinal column. As bipeds evolved, the foramen magnum, the opening at the base of skull for the spinal column, moved from the back of the skull to the center. The spinal column also evolved from a continuous curve to a spine with four concave and convex curves. (Haviland et al. 2011, pgs. 79, 80). Another change was the widening of the pelvis which gives a wider plateau for more balance when walking on two legs.
In 1965, Dr. Harry Angelman, an English physician, first described three children with characteristics now known as the Angelman syndrome. Angelman syndrome is a neuro-genetic disorder that is usually diagnosed at a very young age, and it happens within 1 in every 15,000 births. Angelman syndrome have symptoms that can be easily mistaken with cerebral palsy or autism. Symptoms of the disorder include developmental delay, lack of speech, seizures, walking and balance disorders, sleep disturbances, hyperactivity, and frequent laughter or smiling. If a baby or child is diagnosed with Angelman syndrome they will require life-long care due to the fact that there is no cure. Due to having similarities with autism and cerebral palsy, Angelman syndrome is often misdiagnosed. Misdiagnoses are a prevalent problem today which can also lead to late diagnoses as well. When this happens, the lost time may cause inflicted individuals to lose opportunities for early intervention programs, life-altering treatments, resources, and customized personal support.
Aphasia is present when the patient knoes what he or she wants to say but cannot pronounce it. The patient with sensory aphasia has difficulty understanding language and may articulate words easily but use them inappropriately. (Davi-Ellen Chabner The Language of Medicine 10th edition)
She has control over her articulators and she knows how to manipulate her oral cavity to produce the correct sounds. The child’s lexical inventory is well developed. She has no trouble finding words to express her thoughts. Not many words are repeated and that illustrates that she has a vast vocabulary where she does not have to borrow words.
According to ASHA, more than 2 million people in the United States have a severe communication disorder that impairs their ability to talk. This problem may be short or long term, and may be congenital (present at birth), acquired (occurring later in late), or degenerative (worsening throughout life). Some disorders could be from lack of oxygen at during the birth process, premature birth, genetic disorders, Cerebral Palsy while others may be caused by aTraumatic Brain Injury, or degenerative diseases.
Do you know there is a medically diagnosed disorder that affects over two American children?” Experts on the subject say there are many more undiscovered cases out there and the cause is still unknown. It sounds like we have a really big problem. The thing is, the disorder that affects all these children, isn’t a disorder at all.
A. Walks on toes, can look very odd when moving in general and appears rigid or droopy in posture.
Ramachandran, Vilayanur S., and Lindsay S. Oberman. "Broken Mirrors: A Theory of Autism." Scientific American Journal. (2006): 62-69. Web. 29 Nov. 2013.
There is no known single cause of autism. Researchers are investigating a number of possible theories including genetics, heredity, medical problems, problems during pregnancy or delivery, as well as environmental influences. It is widely accepted that it is caused by abnormalities in the brain structure or function. There is evidence from neuropathological studies that autism has its origins in abnormal brain development early in prenatal life which continues postnatally, showing acceleration in brain growth measured by head circumference (Zwaigenbaum, L., Bryson, S., Rogers, T., Roberts, W., Brian, J., & Szatmari, P., 2005). The disorder also seems to have a genetic basis, although researchers have yet to find the specific genes that link to the onset of autism. There could be a cluster of genes that have somehow interfered with normal brain development and function. Studies show that twins of children with autism were more likely to be autistic themselves than the regular population, demonstrating there is a heredity lin...
Hemiparesis that affects the peroneal nerve preventing dorsiflexors muscles from lifting the toes up when walking causes the toes to drag, impairing gait. Hemiparesis can also affect the knee flexor and extensor muscles which are important for “shock absorption, assisting with foot clearance and balance control” (Sadeghi, H. et al., 2002, p. 51). Physical therapists know that poor gait can affect the pelvis, lower back, spine and neck as the body tries to compensate for unilateral weakness of the lower limbs. The sooner a patient can achieve normal gait the less likely they are to suffer permanent damage and the quicker they can return to their normal lives and activity levels.
My grandfather's stroke affected his legs and his memory, which made it difficult for him to walk. My grandfather first used a cane, but his legs became too weak, so he tried a walker, but this lasted only a month. Not only could he not walk or take care of himself, but also he began to stay up at night and fall out of bed.