Down Syndrome

INTRODUCTION:-
Down syndrome, also called as the trisomy 21, is a chromosomal disorder caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome.
Down syndrome (DS) is a condition in which extra genetic material causes delays in the way a child develops, and often leads to mental retardation.

Risk factors for Down’s syndrome:
Since the Down’s syndrome is related to the genes, the following are a few risk factors:

Carrier Parents for the genetic translocation for Down syndrome:
Both men and women can pass the genetic translocation for Down syndrome on to their children.

Mothers who already have one child with Down syndrome.
Advancing maternal age:

As a woman's eggs age, there's a greater inclination for chromosomes to divide improperly. So a woman's chances of giving birth to a child with Down syndrome increase with age.

Growth and development in Down’s syndrome:
Growth retardation starts in utero and continues throughout the developmental years. The syndrome is often associated with moderate intellectual disability which confers a mental age of 5–7 years
At school age the average IQ, which is an indication of mental performance alone, is 48 (range 20–79). Most of the times, the impaired ability to comprehend and express language in a spoken form often impairs the patient’s ability to describe symptoms. This hampers the diagnosis of many anatomical or functional impairments, diseases or disabilities.

Clinical features:
The clinical features affecting the head and neck in Down’s syndrome are:

• Abnormal teeth
• Brushfield spots
• Brachycephaly
• Epicanthic folds
• Excessive skin at nape of the neck
• Flat nasal bridge
• Folded or dysplastic ears
• Furrowed tongue
• Narrow palate
• Open mouth
• Protruding tongue
• Short neck
• Small ears
• Up slanting palpebral fissures


The clinical features affecting the extremities in Down’s syndrome are:
• Hypoplastic mid phalanx of fifth finger
•...