Ages of People with Down Syndrome

Down syndrome is one of the first known cases of mental disabilities, thanks to the first discoverer of this syndrome, the British doctor John Langdon Down in 1866 AD; when he noticed a group of children similar to each other in facial features, especially eyes that extend upwards, which resemble the eyes of The yellow race is an inhabitant of Asia; It was initially called Mongolism, after the Republic of Mongolia.

Some aspects of this condition were described by Jean-Etienne Dominique Esquirolle in 1838, Edouard Seguin in 1844, and in 1959, the genetic cause of Down syndrome, an extra copy of chromosome 21, was discovered.

 It is worth noting that the title “Mongolians” has now been invalidated in books and scientific references.

In 1965, the World Health Organization banned the use of the term Mongolian dyslexia to describe the syndrome, and later became known as Down Syndrome, after the British doctor who discovered it.

Over time, it has been discovered that this syndrome affects all peoples of the world and has nothing to do with race, gender or social class. It is caused by a chromosomal defect because those who have it, have an extra chromosome.

Down syndrome cases are among the most easily recognizable cases since birth due to their distinctive physical characteristics, as the extra chromosome is responsible of the presence of distinctive physical signs. These children resemble each other in appearance, in addition they have a group of health problems that distinguish them, such as heart and respiratory problems and others.

Among the social characteristics that distinguish these cases are meekness, acceptance of people, shaking hands with those they meet, a tendency to imitate, and music love; they do not hold grudges, or hatred for anyone.

There are many misconceptions about this syndrome, including the ages of those who have it. Recently, many questions have been raised about this issue; Especially after the death of some young people with Down syndrome.

In general, the average lifespan of individuals with Down syndrome is from 50 to 60 years, in the developed world with appropriate health care, and in this regard, the information that sees Down syndrome people dying at young ages has been shown to be wrong as people with Down syndrome now live for longer than previously expected. According to recent international studies, their age has now increased to 60 years or more, while this percentage was 25 years in the eighties of this century.

In 2008, Burt Holbrooke passed away after he turned 83 and entered the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest person with Down syndrome.

The reason for this is due to the development of medical care and family and social psychological support, which plays a major role in the physical and psychological health of Down syndrome holders and consequently, their longevity, and before that to the wisdom of God.

Therefore, every father and mother who has a son or a daughter with this syndrome should not worry about the future and focus only on care, attention and rehabilitation of them at an early age, as this is their roles as conscious parents. They always remember that life is in the hands of God.

A syndrome is a group of closely related medical signs and symptoms, often related to a particular disease or disorder. The word is derived from the Greek word “syndrome” meaning synchrony.

In some cases, a syndrome is so closely related to a disease or cause that the words syndrome, disease, and disorder are used interchangeably, especially inherited syndromes; For example, Down syndrome, Wolf-Hircheron syndrome, and Andersen-Tawil syndrome. They are more than just a collection of signs and symptoms, regardless of whether they are called syndromes.

In other cases, the syndrome is not specific to just one disease; For example, toxic shock syndrome may be caused by various toxins.