A Description Of Down Syndrome
The condition known as Down syndrome occurs because of an error in the cell division process, resulting in abnormality in the genetic material. Every cell of the human body consists of 46 chromosomes, from which 23 are given by the father and the other 23 by the mother. However, in this case an extra 21st chromosome results.
This condition causes cognitive and physical impairments in the child. Such developmental disabilities can also be detected earlier, even when the baby has not been born yet, with the help of ultrasound and other screenings.
Usually the age of the mother leads to the highest probability of resulting in Down syndrome. The following are three categories of it:
Trisomy 21 is the most common type of Down syndrome. In this condition, every individual has 47 chromosomes instead of the normal 46. According to statistics, around 95% of people who have Down syndrome have this condition.
This occurs due to an error in the process of cell division that takes place either before or at the time of conception. It results in an additional copy of the 21st chromosome in each cell of the body.
Mosaicism is known to be the second category that occurs in less than 2% of babies. This condition comes about after fertilization has occurred, and causes some cells of the body to have 46 chromosomes, while some have the abnormal number of 47. The cause of the uneven numbers of chromosomes is because of an error that takes place while the 21st chromosome is being separated.
The last type is known as translocation occurring in 3-4% of people who experience Down syndrome. A portion of the 21st chromosome breaks and separates from it, and joins another one. The other chromosome is usually the 14th chromosome. An important factor why translocation happens is when one of the parents has an abnormal setting in his or her genetic material.
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