What is Down Syndrome?

In every jail cell in the human torso there is a nucleus, where genetic fabric 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 actress copy of chromosome 21.

This additional genetic cloth alters the course of development and causes the characteristics associated with Down syndrome. A few of the common concrete traits of Down syndrome are low muscle tone, small stature, an upwardly camber to the eyes, and a single deep crease across the center 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 Illness Command and Prevention, approximately i in every 700 babies in the United States is born with Down syndrome, making Downward syndrome the nigh common chromosomal condition. Well-nigh six,000 babies with Down syndrome are born in the United States each year.

When Was Downward Syndrome Discovered?

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

In recent history, advances in medicine and science have enabled researchers to investigate the characteristics of people with Down syndrome. In 1959, the French physician Jérôme Lejeune identified Down's syndrome as a chromosomal status. Instead of the usual 46 chromosomes nowadays in each cell, Lejeune observed 47 in the cells of individuals with Down's syndrome. It was later determined that an extra partial or whole copy of chromosome 21 results in the characteristics associated with Down's 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 slap-up advances in Down syndrome enquiry.