In 1866, an English physician, John Down, described a disease that later got his name. It was later determined that this is not a disease, but a syndrome, that is, persistent changes. He did this in 1959, the French geneticist Jerome Lejeune.
What is
Down Syndrome? This is the appearance of an
extra chromosome in the DNA. If 46 chromosomes are normal, then in this case there are 47, and the 21st chromosome is not double, but triple. These are genetic changes.
Why children with Down syndrome are born is still unknown. That is, the reasons themselves are clear, but no one can say why chromosomes begin to mutate periodically. The prerequisites that lead to such a mutation are also not identified. Such a child can be born to any parents. It's like a lottery ticket.
The features of the manifestation of Down syndrome is a characteristic appearance: children are stunted, with short legs and arms, with thick fingers, a large body, a face of the Mongoloid type. In people who have this syndrome, there are violations of the endocrine glands, especially the thyroid. They also have physical and mental underdevelopment of varying severity.
By and large, asking a question about why children with Down syndrome are born is useless. We all come into the world with these or those features or violations. Over the entire history of mankind four thousand generations have been replaced. Therefore, it is impossible to predict which gene will "shoot" today, or which feature will manifest itself. You need to take it for granted.
We must not ask ourselves why children with Down syndrome are born, but take a closer look at them. And then you can see that these are just wonderful kids. They are almost all, with rare exceptions, very friendly, trusting, unpretentious, rarely aggressive, although sometimes they can show passive stubbornness. Many of them, despite the lag in physical development, are very agile, and therefore can be successful in sports. These children are easy to manage, always respond to a request for help. Yes, I must admit that most of them are significantly behind in mental development, they will not be able to pass the exam and they will not graduate
. But they well perform simple, monotonous work, can become indispensable helpers in the family, or even carry out unskilled or semi-skilled work assignments.
Everyone who directly encounters this problem, especially parents, remember: if Down syndrome is detected, treatment is not prescribed, it simply does not exist. The disease differs from the syndrome in that the disease is a condition caused by external or internal causes, and the syndrome is persistent changes that have occurred at the genetic level. They are not treatable; they can only be slightly corrected to improve a person’s quality of life. Sometimes there are ads that are taken to cure Down syndrome. Do not believe such promises. This is a banal pumping of money and thirst for profit.
If trouble comes, do not tear your hair out and ask the question: "Why are children with Down syndrome born and how to cure it?" You just have to live, adapting to new circumstances, properly raising a child. And soon you can simply stop paying attention to the fact that this is a special child. He will be the most beloved and wonderful.