Monday, April 19, 2010

The Mysterious Symptoms of Down Syndrome By Jodi Roberts

The symptoms of Down Syndrome can vary with each different case. There is no way to determine exactly what symptoms your child will have until they actually show up. This syndrome is the number one cause of mental retardation and malformations among infants today. There are actually over 50 symptoms that can determine if your child has this syndrome. The number of the symptoms and the severity of them will differ with each individual child. Though not every child with this condition will have the same symptoms, there are some very common symptoms that you may see on a regular basis.

These symptoms include, but are not limited to: facial features that may seem flattened smaller heads than normal, a tongue that protrudes, ears that are shaped irregularly and eyes that abnormally slant upwards. These are some of the more common symptoms of down syndrome. However, there are others that you may see a lot in children who have this medical condition. They are excessive flexibility, poor muscle tone, relatively short fingers as well as short, broad hands with a single crease in the palm of the hand. These symptoms of Down syndrome may not show as an infant, but will become more apparent as the child grows.

One of the things that you can look for is a slower development than other children around them. For many people, "what are the causes of Down syndrome?" is a question that is often asked. The causes for this syndrome are due to a child being born with an extra chromosome. The average person is born with 46 chromosomes. A person receives 23 chromosomes from the mother and 23 chromosomes from the father. However, every once in a while, a person is born with 47 chromosomes. There are actually 3 different types of cell division that causes down syndrome. These 3 types of division are; Trisomy 21, Translocation Down Syndrome and Mosaic Down Syndrome. Trisomy 21 is the most common type of cell division that can cause Down syndrome. Over 90% of the cases for Down syndrome have this type.

A child with this type of cell division has 3 copies of chromosome 21, instead of the usual 2 copies. Trisomy 21 occurs during the sperm cell development or the egg cell development. Translocation Down Syndrome this type of cell division is an uncommon cause for Down syndrome. This cell division occurs either before or at conception and is caused by part of the chromosome 21 attaching to another chromosome. What this means is that the child will have the normal two copies of chromosomes, but they will have excess material from the chromosome 21 attached to the translocated chromosome.This often results in the symptoms of this medical mystery.

Mosaic Down Syndrome is a very rare. With this type of cell division, the child has some cells with extra chromosome 21. This type of abnormal cell division usually occurs after the fertilization stage. Other than these 3 types of cell division, there are no behavior factors or environmental factors that cause Down syndrome. Depending on the down syndrome facts known by your doctor will determine the right course for treatment. These treatments will vary depending on facts such as the symptoms, the age of the child and the severity of the condition. Knowing the facts and keeping your doctor informed will be the very best thing that you can do for your child with Down syndrome.

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