more fun facts!

Did you know there are actually three types of Down Syndrome?  I surely did not!  So I googled!  Below is what I found:

There are three different types of Down syndrome: Standard Trisomy 21, Translocation, and Mosaicism.

Standard Trisomy 21 is when the extra chromosome 21 comes from either the egg or sperm cell. Between 90% and 95% of all Down syndrome is Standard Trisomy 21.

Translocation is caused when a piece of chromosome 21 is located on another chromosome such as chromosome 14. The person with Translocation Trisomy 21 will have 46 chromosomes but will have the genetic material of 47 chromosomes. The person with Translocation Trisomy 21 will exhibit all the same characteristics of a person with Standard Trisomy 21 since they have three copies of chromosome 21. Translocation occurs between 3% and 5% of cases of Down syndrome.

Mosaicism is when a person has a mix of cells, some containing 46 chromosomes and some containing 47 chromosomes. This occurs either because: a) The person received 46 chromosomes at fertilization but somewhere during early cell division the chromosome 21 cell pairs failed to split creating a cell with 47 chromosomes and a cell with 45 chromosomes. The cell with 45 chromosomes can not survive but the cell with 47 chromosomes will continue to divide. All cells that come from this cell will contain 47 chromosomes. b) The person received 47 chromosomes at fertilization but later during cell division the extra chromosome is lost. Mosaicism occurs in 2% to 5% of cases of Down syndrome. A person with Mosaic Down syndrome may exhibit all, some, or none of the characteristics of Down syndrome depending on the percent of cells carrying the extra chromosome and where these cells are located.

Source: http://www.downsyn.com/

And now you know.  (Me too!)  Stay tuned, tomorrow I will be back with more Sunday Prayers.

Down Syndrome Awareness Month

Happy October!  Sure, most of you know that October is breast cancer awareness month.  If you aren't sure take a trip to your local shopping mall like I did last night.  There is literally tons of stuff out there showing support for breast cancer research, survivors, families, etc.  Including this beauty that I am trying to justify owning:  Susan G. Komen Kitchenaid Stand Mixer.  (PS: How do you other bloggers get pictures from websites into your blog?)

But what about Down Syndrome?  Where are the shirts?  Where are the posters?  Where are the blue and gold ribbons? Butterflies? Butterflies and the combo of blue/gold are 'symbols' for Ds the way the pink ribbon is for breast cancer.  We know tons about cancer, but what do you know about Down Syndrome?  Well here are some fun facts!

1. Ds is usually identified at birth or soon after
2. Individuals with Ds have more chromosomes than you!  47 to be exact, and most of us only have 46
3. Ds is the most frequently occurring chromosomal 'disorder'
4. 80% of children born with Ds are born to mothers under 35 years of age
5. Ds falls on the 21st chromosome, with 3 copies of that specific gene
6. MY birthday is 3/21  (last night I said to a friend: it's like I was born to do this!)

Ok, so that last fact has nothing to do with Ds, but isn't God amazing?!  I love His sense of humor.  Don't believe me?  Go find a picture of a giraffe.  Would you have ever thought to make one of those?

Stay tuned here this month, I'm going to make it a goal to include as much info about Down Syndrome as a I can.  Because people like Danny are valuable to society, and I want you to love them the way we do.