Down syndrome is a condition in which a person has an extra chromosome. Chromosomes are small “packages” of genes in the body. They determine how a baby’s body forms during pregnancy and how the baby’s body functions as it grows in the womb and after birth. Usually, a baby is born with 46 chromosomes but babies with Down syndrome have an extra copy of one of these chromosomes, chromosome 21. A medical term for having an extra copy of a chromosome is trisomy. Down syndrome is also referred to as Trisomy 21. This extra copy changes how the baby’s body and brain develop, which can cause both mental and physical challenges for the baby.
Some features of Down syndrome would include having small ears, a flattened face, almond shape eyes, small hands and feet, small pinky fingers, poor muscle tone or loose joints, and they tend to be shorter in height as children and adults.
There are three different types of Down syndrome. They are all very similar because the physical features and behaviors are alike. The three different types of Down syndrome include Trisomy 21, Translocation Down syndrome, and Mosaic Down syndrome. Trisomy 21 is when each cell in the body has 3 separate copies or chromosome 21 instead of the usual 2. Trisomy 21 is what about 95% of people with Down syndrome have. Translocation Down syndrome is the type that occurs when an extra part or an extra chromosome 21 is present, but it attached to a different chromosome rather than being a separate chromosome 21. Mosaic Down syndrome is a type that affects about 2% of people with Down syndrome. For children with mosaic Down syndrome some of their cells have three copies of chromosome 21, but other cells have the typical two copies of chromosome 21. Children with mosaic down syndrome have fewer features of the condition due to the presence of some cells with a typical number of chromosomes.
Some research was done at Stanford University and based on the evidence from people