Down Syndrome Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Down Syndrome - Essay ExampleDown believed that those wretched from the condition could lead a better life if given a come across (Bowman-Kruhm 11). The condition came to be referred as Down syndrome in the earlyish 1960s (Margulies 8). Dr. Jerome Lejeune and Patricia Jacobs, in 1959, identified the link between DS and the presence of an extra chromosome (Bowman-Kruhm 12). Symptoms Those suffering from DS abut both physical abnormalities as well as health complications. They have delayed cognitive development during early infancy, leading to intellectual retardation and reduction in intelligence quotient (IQ) from early infancy to late childhood (Rachidi & Lopes). They experience deficiency in speech and language production. The low IQ persists in matureness and is coupled with a decline in cognition, which is a result of accelerated ageing. By the fourth decade of life, there is often an early onset of neurohistopathology, resembling Alzheimers disease (Rachidi & Lopes). Patie nts with DS have deficient spatial learning, behavioral defects, and memory deficits due to development and functional impairments in neurogenesis, myelination, synaptogenesis, etc. in the brain (Rachidi & Lopes). Patients with DS often have some or many of the commonly recognizable traits commonly associated with the condition. They lack normal muscle tone, giving them a floppy appearing (Griffith, Moore and Yoder 270). The head is often abnormally shaped, with an unusually shaped skull. They also have unusual facial features such as flattened nose, colossal tongues, small mouths, abnormally shaped ears, broad hands with large palm creases, and slanting almond shaped eyes with an abnormal iris... Those suffering from DS exhibit both physical abnormalities as well as health complications. They have delayed cognitive development during early infancy, leading to mental retardation and reduction in intelligence quotient (IQ) from early infancy to late childhood (Rachidi & Lopes). The y experience deficiency in speech and language production. The low IQ persists in adulthood and is coupled with a decline in cognition, which is a result of accelerated ageing. By the fourth decade of life, there is often an early onset of neurohistopathology, resembling Alzheimers disease (Rachidi & Lopes). Patients with DS have deficient spatial learning, behavioral defects, and memory deficits due to development and functional impairments in neurogenesis, myelination, synaptogenesis, etc. in the brain (Rachidi & Lopes). Patients with DS often have some or many of the commonly recognizable traits commonly associated with the condition. They lack normal muscle tone, giving them a floppy appearance (Griffith, Moore and Yoder 270). The head is often abnormally shaped, with an unusually shaped skull. They also have unusual facial features such as flattened nose, large tongues, small mouths, abnormally shaped ears, broad hands with large palm creases, and slanting almond shaped eyes wi th an abnormal iris (Griffith, Moore and Yoder 270). It is also observed that the inner boxwood of the eyes in patients with DS has a rounded fold of skin called the epicanthial fold (Griffith, Moore and Yoder 270). Apart from these, they also often suffer from gastrointestinal and heart defects. many patients with DS are found to possess normal intelligence, while most others suffer from intellectual deficiencies (Margulies 5).