DS awarness fact Day #6: Are There Different Types of Down Syndrome? There are three types of Down syndrome: trisomy 21 (nondisjunction), translocation and mosaicism. TRISOMY 21 (NONDISJUNCTION) Down syndrome is usually caused by an error in cell division called "nondisjunction." Nondisjunction results in an embryo with three copies of chromosome 21 instead of the usual two. Prior to or at conception, a pair of 21st chromosomes in either the sperm or the egg fails to separate. As the embryo develops, the extra chromosome is replicated in every cell of the body. This type of Down syndrome, which accounts for 95% of cases, is called trisomy 21. TYPICAL CELL DIVISION TRISOMY 21 (NONDISJUNCTION) CELL DIVISION MOSAICISM Mosaicism occurs when nondisjunction of chromosome 21 takes place in one - but not all - of the initial cell divisions after fertilization. When this occurs, there is a mixture of two types of cells, some containing the usual 46 chromosomes and others containing 47. Those cells with 47 chromosomes contain an extra chromosome 21. Mosaicism accounts for about 1% of all cases of Down syndrome. Research has indicated that individuals with mosaic Down syndrome may have fewer characteristics of Down syndrome than those with other types of Down syndrome. However, broad generalizations are not possible due to the wide range of abilities people with Down syndrome possess. MOSAIC CELL DIVISION TRANSLOCATION Translocation accounts for about 4% of all cases of Down syndrome. In translocation, part of chromosome 21 breaks off during cell division and attaches to another chromosome, typically chromosome 14. While the total number of chromosomes in the cells remain 46, the presence of an extra part of chromosome 21 causes the characteristics of Down syndrome. - See more at: ndss.org/Down-Syndrome/What-Is-Down-Syndrome/#sthash.fwtmIxIU.dpuf
Posted on: Mon, 07 Oct 2013 02:15:03 +0000
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