Down syndrome is not a disease, but a genetic variation, a chromosomal condition.
To put it simply, a person with Down syndrome has got an extra chromosome. The total number of chromosomes in our body is 46. Out of 46, 23 chromosomes come from our mothers and the other 23 come from our fathers. In the 21st chromosome there is triplication which causes Down syndrome. This is why Down Syndrome is also known as Trisomy 21. As a result, the total number of chromosomes in Down Syndrome becomes 47.
Down syndrome is not a disease that can be cured, but rather a genetic difference. Down Syndrome occurs by an error during cell division, which results in an extra copy added to the chromosome pair numbered 21. The sole reason that is known to cause Down syndrome is the age of pregnancy: the risk factor increases in pregnancies over the age of 35. However, as in general young women tend to have babies, 75-80% of children with Down syndrome are the babies of young mothers. Down Syndrome does not bear any difference as to status of country, nationality, socio-economic class. Down Syndrome prevalence is around 1 in every 800 births. Approximately 7 million people live with Down syndrome all over the world. There is no existing data for the people with Down syndrome in Bangladesh.
