Down syndrome is the result of a chromosomal disorder, a congenital developmental disorder that manifests as mental retardation, impaired bone growth, and other physical anomalies.
Causes of Down syndrome
The syndrome is based on an anomaly of chromosomes: individuals suffering from this disorder usually have 47 chromosomes instead of the normal 46. The extra chromosome is the result of impaired maturation of germ cells.
Currently, no one knows what leads to the appearance of an extra chromosome in an egg or sperm. A child with trisomy can be born in any family, to parents of any age, any nationality, any religion, any social class. About one child in 600-800 is born with Down syndrome.
One of the risk factors for the birth of a baby with Down syndrome is the age of the mother. At the age of 20, this probability is approximately 1 in 2000, at the age of 30 it is 1 in 1000, at 35 it is 1 in 500, at 40 it is 1 in 80, and at the age of 45 it is 1 in 18.
The main symptoms of Down syndrome
Congenital malformations, disorders of the postnatal development of the nervous system, secondary immunodeficiency, etc.
A child born with Down’s syndrome has some characteristic physical features: so it is characterized by slight differences in the shape of the head, eyes, ears and bridge of the nose.
Down syndrome treatment
Attempts have been made to treat babies with Down syndrome with thyroid and pituitary hormones, but these methods are still under development. Like other mentally retarded children of their level, people with Down syndrome are amenable to learning household skills, motor coordination, speech, and other simple functions needed in everyday life.