What is Down Syndrome?

In every prison cell in the human body in that location is a nucleus, where genetic cloth is stored in genes. Genes carry the codes responsible for all of our inherited traits and are grouped along rod-like structures called chromosomes. Typically, the nucleus of each cell contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, half of which are inherited from each parent. Down's syndrome occurs when an private has a full or partial extra copy of chromosome 21.

This additional genetic cloth alters the class of development and causes the characteristics associated with Down syndrome. A few of the mutual physical traits of Down syndrome are low musculus tone, modest stature, an upward slant to the eyes, and a single deep pucker beyond the centre of the palm – although each person with Down syndrome is a unique individual and may possess these characteristics to different degrees, or not at all.

How Common is Down Syndrome?

According to the Centers for Affliction Control and Prevention, approximately one in every 700 babies in the U.s. is born with Down syndrome, making Down's syndrome the most common chromosomal condition. About six,000 babies with Down's syndrome are born in the The states each yr.

When Was Down Syndrome Discovered?

For centuries, people with Downwardly syndrome accept been alluded to in art, literature and science. It wasn't until the late nineteenth century, however, that John Langdon Downwards, an English physician, published an accurate clarification of a person with Down syndrome. It was this scholarly work, published in 1866, that earned Down the recognition as the "father" of the syndrome. Although other people had previously recognized the characteristics of the syndrome, it was Downwardly who described the condition as a distinct and separate entity.

In contempo history, advances in medicine and science accept enabled researchers to investigate the characteristics of people with Down's syndrome. In 1959, the French physician Jérôme Lejeune identified Down's syndrome as a chromosomal condition. Instead of the usual 46 chromosomes present in each cell, Lejeune observed 47 in the cells of individuals with Down syndrome. Information technology was later determined that an extra partial or whole re-create of chromosome 21 results in the characteristics associated with Downwards syndrome. In the year 2000, an international team of scientists successfully identified and catalogued each of the approximately 329 genes on chromosome 21. This accomplishment opened the door to great advances in Down's syndrome research.