Down Syndrome Down Syndrome, (also known as trisomy 21) is a genetic disorder that causes problems in the brain and how a child develops physically and mentally. It is estimated that down syndrome affects around 4 million people in the world. Down syndrome is considered as quite rare because it occurs once in every 1000 live births.
How does it happen?/Causes Down Syndrome is caused by the problems of the chromosomes.When the baby is born it receives 46 chromosomes ....23 from each parent. Down Syndrome is when the child gets an extra chromosome. This means he/she will get 47 chromosomes. The presence of an extra chromosomes causes changes mentally and physically.
Symptoms and signs/effects Down syndrome affects people in different ways. The symptoms of people with down syndrome may vary but there are some common signs that are very obvious.People with down syndrome mostly have the following symptoms: Behaviour People with down syndrome are said to have a happy personality and smile a lot. Self-talking is also a behavior associated with down syndrome. They often talk loudly to themselves and make strange noises eg grunting or hissing.
Characteristics/features - Flat face, small ears, small mouth, slanting eyes - Short neck, arms and legs - Weak muscles - Low intelligence - Separated toes
Hope for the future Because of the problems with chromosomes, there is no real cure for down syndrome. However, researchers are currently using mouse for testing and checking the development in order to understand the condition. They hope that with that information, they can find possible cures and treatments for down syndrome in the future.