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An average human being is born with 23 chromosomes in the nucleus of their

bodies. Down Syndrome occurs when an individual is born with an extra copy of the
chromosome 21. This is considered an addition of a chromosome. Down
Syndrome can be diagnosed prenatally or at birth.

Down Syndrome is most basically known as a disease that causes a serious

delay in both the physical and mental aspects of a human being. The scope of this
disease may vary from extremely severe to highly functioning. Some of the most
common physical traits that individuals with Down Syndrome exhibit are, slanted
eyes, low muscle tone, flat head, large tongue, a single crease of their palm, and
flattened nose. These are just a couple of the many physical characteristics that are
recognized as Down syndrome. Individuals with Down Syndrome also experience
difficulties with hearing and seeing; many individuals receive tubes in their ears to
aid them in hearing at an early age, and also get glasses to improve their vision.
People with Down syndrome are particularly prone to heart issues, certain cancers
like leukemia and testicular cancer, constipation, and thyroid deficiency. Most of
these can be facilitated by medicine and totally manageable.

Children with Down syndrome experience most of the same stages of

childhood, like learning to crawl and walk, but for them it occurs months later than
it would in the average child. It seems that the older that an individual with Down
syndrome gets, the worse their intellectual ability gets. As their age increases, they
become less likely to perform well against peers that are the same age. As they are

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learning to speak and form sentences, it is found that many children know the
words and what to say, they just cannot speak them like they would like to.
Depending on the severity of the particular child would determine whether or not
their symptoms get worse as they age, but in most individuals this is the case. Some
may even lose their ability to speak at all down the road.

In 1983, the life expectancy for people with Down syndrome was only age 25.
Today, it is 60 years old. (NDSS, 2012). For the average individual, the probability
of having a child with Down syndrome increases as the mother ages. For individuals
with Down syndrome, most often a male is less likely to produce offspring at all, but
a female has a better chance of conceiving. It is the standard that an individual with
Down syndrome who conceives has about a fifty percent chance that he or she will
pass the disorder along to their offspring.

There is a wide range of moral issues associated with this genetic disorder.
For the most part, it is social acceptance of the individuals with Down syndrome.
Society is becoming more and more adapted, accepting, and understanding of these
individuals, but some people are still perplexed and derogatory towards it.
Hundreds of years ago, people with what we now call Down syndrome, were killed
or abandoned as children, and a little bit later in history, were just institutionalized
which most often resulted in death. Now, there are many organizations and public
figures that try to make the public aware and more understanding of this disorder
and how to treat people with it. Another moral issue is that pregnant women now

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have the ability to determine whether or not their baby has this disorder, and if it is
early enough most of the time, they have the chance to terminate the pregnancy
because of this fact. The question is, is that morally acceptable? My thought is no. I
am a full supporter of women having total control over their body and the free
choice of abortion, but I do not think it is right to terminate a child just because it
will have Down syndrome. I obviously could not say for sure what I would do,
because I have never been in that situation myself, but I believe that those children
deserve a chance in this world. Genetic testing is available, and that is how most
parents find out that their child has Down syndrome. It can also normally be
detected through a sonogram, because the doctor may recognize certain physical
traits. Down Syndrome occurs throughout every race; it is not particularly partial to
one. One child in every 691 child born will have Down syndrome. (NDSS, 2012).
Many parents cannot handle this type of responsibility, but I personally believe that
every child with Down syndrome greatly improves their parents life and ability to
live with joy.

I found an article from July 2, 2013 that is titled, Drug improves cognitive
function in mouse model of Down syndrome, study says, from Stanford University.
This study, which was conducted last year, uses a drug that is already in existence
but currently used for treating asthma. Researchers say that the drug will improve
cognitive ability and that it particularly enhanced the strength of nerve connections
in the hippocampus of the brain. This improves the ability to form and preserve
memories, spatial navigation, and attention span. (Digitale, 2013).

The person who wrote this is just an editor/author, so they are not an
authority on this subject. The man who conducted the research, Ahmad Salehi, MD,
PhD, is an authority on this topic. He is a professor of clinical and behavioral
psychiatry. This research was conducted in order to provide a better life and way of
functioning for individuals with Down syndrome. If this research were to be named
sound and actually available to people, I think that it would really help, although I
am sure this is subject to every different individuals reaction to the medication. If
this were to become a standard medication for people with Down syndrome, I think
that it would change the world and the way that people perceive individuals with
this genetic disorder. It would improve their lives and hopefully make it easier for
other people to understand them and learn about them and their disorder.

A question that I thought was essential to this study was if this medicine
would change or distort the individuals personality. Dr. Salehi says that it will not,
that this medicine be only for the individuals improvement in school and in their
everyday functioning. This is also a moral question. We do not want to diminish
their personalities or way of being; we just want to help them in school and in
everyday life. Yes, there will be dilemmas in the further research of this anecdote,
but I believe that they will be small and make it totally worth the study, if these
people can be helped in any way.

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My experience and background plays a large part in how I feel about this. My
mother was a special education teacher and director for most of her career and that
is actually my chosen career path. I have always been completely comfortable
around people with Down syndrome and any kind of disorder like that, because that
is just what I am used to. So, I am already partial to the hope for improvement in
this field. I do think that the author considered other viewpoints, because they
mentioned the ethical and moral side which I think is most important; is this
medicine going to change the personality of the individual, and the answer is no.
None of my opinions have changed after reading this article, although I am excited
about this research and hope that this does make a difference in their world.

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Works Cited:

Down Syndrome. (2014). Retrieved April 10, 2014, from Kids Health
website:
http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/genetic/down_syndrome.html

Down Syndrome. (2012, June). Retrieved April 10, 2014, from Genetics
Home
Reference website: http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/down-syndrome

Down Syndrome. (2012). Retrieved April 10, 2014, from National Down
Syndrome
Society website: http://www.ndss.org/

Digitale, E. (2013, July 2). Drug improves cognitive function in mouse model
of
Down syndrome, study says. Retrieved April 10, 2014, from Stanford
School
of Medicine website: http://med.stanford.edu/ism/2013/july/down.html