Down Syndrome

Trisomy 21

Ahvasri Thapa

6th hour

Down Syndrome

  Down Syndrome, or trisomy 21, is a disorder that causes one's developmental and intellectual activities to become slowed down, or delayed.

Main Features

Children with down syndrome are known to have flattened facial features, protruding tongues, excessive flexibility, spots on the eye, small heads or necks, and upward slanting eyes that are unusual for their ethnic group. It causes developmental and intellectual conflicts and delays.

Causes

Down syndrome is caused by having 47 chromosomes in every cell instead of 46. It is caused by an error in cell division. The egg or sperm cell is left with an extra chromosome 21 cell.

Statistics

 As a female ages,  the chance of her child getting down syndrome becomes higher, because older eggs have a higher risk of improper cell division. At age thirty-five, the risk is 1 in 350. Approximately 400,000 people have it in the U.S. 

Treatment

The only thing that can be done is simple therapy to help manage it.  It doesn't completely get rid of the syndrome but it does do some help to manage the syndrome.

Conclusion

Down syndrome is a common disease that has affected 400,000 people in the United States. It is formed by having a third chromosome, specifically chromosome 21,  in your system. There may not be a cure to completely rid of the syndrome but scientists and health workers are working to find a way to completely absolve it. 

Works Cited

• http://www.webmd.com/children/down-syndrome
• http://www.ndss.org/down-syndrome/ Myths-Truths
• http:/mayoclinic.com