Is there a cure for Down syndrome?

In recent years, the incidence of babies with Down syndrome has increased. If women do not pay attention during pregnancy or do not do a good screening during prenatal checkups, it is easy for a baby with Down syndrome to be born. In fact, Down syndrome can be prevented in life, but once the baby is a Down syndrome baby, there is currently no good treatment for it. Only early rehabilitation training can help the baby recover.

There is currently no effective treatment for Down syndrome, and the best treatment is to terminate the pregnancy before the mother gives birth. Children with this disease have low immunity and need to pay attention to preventing infection. If accompanied by congenital heart disease, gastrointestinal tract or other malformations, surgical correction may be considered.

2. How to prevent Down syndrome

1. Genetic counseling

The older the pregnant woman is, the higher the risk. The recurrence risk for standard Down syndrome is 1%. Parents of children with translocation should undergo karyotype analysis to detect balanced translocation carriers. If the mother has a D/G translocation, each fetus has a 10% risk rate; if the father has a D/G translocation, the risk rate is 4%. The vast majority of G/G translocation cases are sporadic, and the karyotypes of the parents are mostly normal, but 21/21 translocation carriers have also been found, and 100% of their next generation will suffer from the disease.

In the early stages of pregnancy, a facial examination of the fetal chorionic villi or amniotic fluid cells, assisted by an ultrasound scanner to look at the fetal head, hands and feet, can confirm whether the fetus has Down syndrome, and the parents can then decide whether an abortion is needed. The preventive method is to carry out prenatal screening and prenatal diagnosis when necessary, and then terminate the pregnancy to prevent the birth of such children.

Prenatal check-ups are an effective measure to prevent the birth of children with Down syndrome. Couples with a history of the disease should undergo prenatal diagnosis when they have another child, namely chromosome karyotype analysis. Sampling includes mid-pregnancy amniocentesis for analysis of amniotic fluid cells, mid-pregnancy embryonic chorionic villus cells, and mid-pregnancy umbilical cord blood lymphocytes.

The measurement of prenatal screening serum markers HCG and AFP has certain clinical significance because it can reduce the blindness of prenatal diagnosis by amniocentesis, indicate the existence of a high-risk pregnant woman group, and enable these pregnant women to undergo further prenatal examinations and consultations, thereby preventing the birth of children with Down syndrome to the greatest extent possible.

If you are a patient with Down syndrome, it is best for you to provide necessary education to your child. Although there is currently no good treatment for Down syndrome, it is still possible for the child to take care of himself through education.