Patient's question:
A friend's child has been developing slowly and looks very strange. The doctor said the child has Down syndrome. What is Down syndrome?Doctor's answer:
Down syndrome, also known as Trisomy 21 or congenital idiocy, is a chromosomal abnormality. It is one of the most common severe congenital birth defects. Infants with Down syndrome are born with distinct facial features and often exhibit poor appetite and feeding difficulties. As they grow older, their intellectual development becomes increasingly apparent, and their motor, physical, and sexual development is delayed. Most patients suffer from severe intellectual disabilities and are accompanied by abnormalities in multiple organs, such as congenital heart disease, leukemia, and gastrointestinal malformations. If a child is affected by Down syndrome, the mother must take the child to seek immediate medical treatment to avoid various misunderstandings and receive timely symptomatic treatment.