The Divine Chromosome

Trisomy 21 is the official, or medical name, for Down syndrome.  Tri refers to three and somy refers to chromosomes.  Therefore, Trisomy 21 means three copies of the 21st chromosome. What does that mean for Erin?  It means each cell in her body has an extra 21st chromosome (the smallest chromosome in the human body), making a total of 47, rather than the typical 46. Oh, and I should mention that all of the chromosomes in a person with Ds are perfectly normal, with no abnormalities.  It is simply the case that there is an extra one. In most cases of Ds (there is always an exception), the extra chromosome is present before conception, coming from either the mother or the father.  While the odds of having a baby with Ds increase slightly with age, 80% of children with Ds are born to women younger than 35 years of age. In many ways it is like winning the lottery!  I will try to remember to post an actual picture of Erin's chromosomes in a later post - pretty cool!

So, for today's Trisomy 21 tidbit, I'll post one of my favorite articles....

http://www.downsyndromecentre.ie/blog/2010/jun/09/down-syndrome-and-evidence-divine/