Down Syndrome

Down Syndrome

•  Down syndrome is also known as trisomy 21.
• People who have down syndrome usually has physical abnormalities such as a flat face, a small broad nose, abnormally shaped ears,  a large tongue and upward slanting eyes with small folds of skin in the corners.
• Down syndrome is caused by nondisjunction of the pair of number 21 chromosomes. This means that these chromosomes “fail to separate during the formation of an egg (or sperm)… when the egg unites with a normal sperm to form an embryo, that embryo ends up with three copies of chromosome 21 instead of the normal two. The extra chromosome is then copied in every cell of the baby’s body” (“Down” 1).
• There is no cure for Down syndrome. However, people can undergo physical therapy or speech therapy in order to help those with this disorder live a more normal life.  
• "Down syndrome is the most common genetic disorder caused by chromosomal abnormality. It affects 1 out of every 800 to 1,000 babies” (“Down” 1).