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Down Syndrome: Information and Birth Likelihood

- Content Writer/Editor for Disabled World
Published: 2009/03/31 - Updated: 2024/01/06
Publication Type: Informative
Topic: Cognitive Disabilities (Publications Database)

Page Content: Synopsis Introduction Main Item

Synopsis: Information on Down syndrome, a genetic disorder that results in varying degrees of physical and mental retardation.

In recent years, Down syndrome has become more common, and children with Down syndrome are living longer.

While it is true that women over 35 do have an increased risk of having a child with Down syndrome, 80% of these children are born to those women under age thirty-five. Because Down syndrome affects a child physically, there will be certain features that an alert doctor or nurse will pick up on.

Introduction

What is Down Syndrome?

Down syndrome is a genetic disorder that results in varying degrees of physical and mental retardation. The condition varies in severity, causing developmental problems that range from mild to severe. The disorder occurs as a result of extra genetic material. The disorder came by its name when an English physician, John Langdon Down, published a description of the characteristics of a person with the condition in 1886. Since Dr. Down was the first person to give the syndrome a name, the disorder is known as Down syndrome or Down's Syndrome. There is no known reason for Down syndrome or a cure for it.

Main Item

In most people, the genes are contained on 23 pairs of chromosomes, for a total of 46 chromosomes. Most people with Down syndrome have an extra copy of the No. 21 chromosome, for a total of 47 chromosomes.

Down syndrome is the most common chromosomal disorder. An estimated 1 in 800 infants are born with Down syndrome. Down syndrome is also a common cause of miscarriage. Every year, as many as 5,000 babies are born with Down syndrome in the United States.

Every year, one child in every 800 to 1,000 births will be born with a condition known as Down syndrome. Down syndrome is a disorder in which the child has extra genetic material. This extra genetic material causes the baby to develop differently in the womb. This abnormal development occurs during the early stages of cell division, soon after conception.

The 3 Distinct Forms of Down Syndrome

There are three types of Down syndrome, all with the same features:

Brief Explanation of Each Type

Common Physical Characteristics of Down Syndrome

Babies with Down syndrome are usually diagnosed at birth or shortly thereafter. Because Down syndrome affects a child physically, there will be certain features that an alert doctor or nurse will pick up on. Most children with the syndrome will have some or all of these traits.

These physical traits are characteristic of a baby with Down syndrome, but in order to determine if a child does indeed have the disorder, a chromosome analysis will need to be performed. This is done by taking blood from your baby and the analysis will be done in a laboratory. Your doctor will notify you of the results.

Likelihood of Giving Birth to a Baby with Down Syndrome

Prenatal Screening for Down Syndrome

Over the last 10 years, new technology has improved the methods of detection of Down syndrome.

While there are ways to diagnose Down syndrome by obtaining fetal tissue samples by amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling, it would not be appropriate to examine every pregnancy this way. Besides greatly increasing the cost of medical care, these methods do carry a slight amount of risk to the fetus.

So screening tests have been developed to try to identify those pregnancies at "high risk." These pregnancies are then candidates for further diagnostic testing. Screening Vs Diagnostic Test

The Difference Between a Screening Test and Diagnostic Test:

Diagnostic tests tend to be more expensive and require an elaborate procedure; screening tests are quick and easy to do. However, screening tests have more chances of being wrong: there are "false-positives" (test states the patient has the condition when the patient really doesn't) and "false-negatives" (patient has the condition but the test states he/she doesn't). Maternal Serum Screening

The mother's blood is checked for three items:

These three are independent measurements, and when taken along with the maternal age (discussed below), can calculate the risk of having a baby with Down syndrome.

A very important consideration in the screening test is the age of the fetus (gestational age). The correct analysis of the different components depends on knowing the gestational age precisely. The best way to determine that is by ultrasound.

Test results are sometimes reported to doctors as "Multiples of the Median (MoM)." The "average" value is therefore called 1.0 MoM. Down syndrome pregnancies have lower levels of AFP and estriol, so their levels would be less than 1.0 MOM. hCG in a Down syndrome pregnancy would be greater than 1.0 MoM.

Finally, the calculated risk is used to modify the risk already statistically calculated based on the mother's age. We already know that as the mother's age advances, the risk of having a baby with Down syndrome increases.

For example: Let's say the test results come back in the typical range for a pregnancy not associated with Down syndrome (that would be 1.0 MoM for all components). This result reduces the woman's risk of having a child with Down syndrome four-fold.

Down Syndrome Facts and Statistics

Famous People Who Had or Have Down Syndrome

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Cite This Page (APA): Langtree, I. C. (2009, March 31 - Last revised: 2024, January 6). Down Syndrome: Information and Birth Likelihood. Disabled World. Retrieved December 10, 2024 from www.disabled-world.com/disability/types/cognitive/down-syndrome.php

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