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What Causes Down Syndrome
What is Down Syndrome
Down syndrome is defined as a disorder that manifests as a result of a genetic abnormality that negatively affects the mental capacity and physical features of an affected individual. Individuals with this disease typically experience varying degrees of medical and physical problems. Some people with the disease are able to successfully lead fairly regular lives while others need perpetual medical care. It affects 1 in 800 newborns and is said to be more common with older mothers. The disease cannot be prevented, however it can be discovered in utero, before the baby is delivered. There is still much controversy in relation to the ramifications of genetic testing for Down syndrome. It has been observed that an estimated 90-93of pregnancies with a Down\’s baby were aborted once this was identified through various forms of genetic testing methods.
The outlook for children with Down\’s syndrome has significantly improved in recent years. The normal life span for a person with Down syndrome was 25 years old in the 1980\’s it has now risen to 49 years of age in present times. People with the disease will usually be infertile especially males who are only partially fertile in extremely rare instances. Most children with Down syndrome will also experience noticeably lessened cognitive abilities. However, with needed medical intervention, family support and vocational training the child with down syndrome can learn to overcome, to some extent, his or her disabilities.
What Causes Down Syndrome
The disease as mentioned before is caused by a genetic irregularity. A normal individual will have 46 chromosomes, 23 of which will be inherited from either parent. In an individual with Down syndrome he or she will have an overall number of 47 chromosomes or essentially 1 more chromosome than is expected. This chromosomal abnormality manifests because of an extra copy of the 21st chromosome. The effect of the extra copy will vary among affected persons.
The condition cannot be prevented and is said to be a randomly occuring phenomenon. However women over the age of 35 are at an increased risk of conceiving a child with Down syndrome. The risk for different age groups are listed below:
• Women who are 25 years of age will typically have a 1in 1,250 chance of having a Down\’s baby.
• Women who are 30 years of age will generally have . 1 in 1000 chance of having a Down\’s baby.
• Women who are 35 years of age will normally have 1in 400 chance of having a Down\’s baby.
• Women who are 40 years of age will typically have 1 in 100 chance of having a Down\’s baby.
• Women who are 45 years of age will typically have . 1 in 30 chance of having a Down\’s baby.
The odds of conceiving a child with Down\’s Syndrome may also be associated with a familial genetic abnormality. A person who has a balanced translocation will not exhibit any signs of down syndrome but will have an elveated risk of conceiving a child with translocation Down syndrome. The estimated risk is 1 in 5 for the female carrier and 1 in 50 for a male carrier. In some caseswhere there is no unattached copy of chromosome 21 the carrier\’s offspring will all have Down\’s Syndrome. The affected parent is therefore said to be a translocation carrier. This sort of Down\’s syndrome is said to occur in 2-3of all Down\’s syndrome cases.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/medicine-articles/what-causes-down-syndrome-1616718.html
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