The Truth About Down Syndrome!

Down syndrome was discovered in 1959 but it became possible to identify abnormalities in the 1950s. Jérôme Lejeune discovered that down syndrome occurred because there was an extra chromosome. Now some people believe that there are two or three copies of the 21st chromosome. Before birth, it is not possible to predict symptoms that someone with down syndrome will develop, but after birth one symptom could be heart malfunctions. There are treatments that could help the disease but not cure it. Some of these are living in a conducive family environment and vocational training. Unfortunately people with down syndrome don't get to live a full life. The life expectancy of anybody with this disease is 49 years. That means that the 400000 people living with down syndrome in the U.S. will only live until 49. One in every 733 people has down syndrome and there are 2429 cases every year. This disease is vulnerable to all races and economic levels. On the other hand, studies show that down syndrome is more likely to occur in babies that have mothers that are less than 35. Down syndrome is a disease that most people don't know a lot about. To learn more go to these websites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_syndrome

http://www.ndss.org/