Mar 21, Kathmandu- A normal person has 46 chromosomes, but people with Down syndrome have 47 chromosomes. Down syndrome is an incurable congenital disease.

Down syndrome is caused by the addition of an extra chromosome due to an error during cell division. This chromosome usually causes intellectual disability in the majority of people.

When Down syndrome occurs, the delay in ability and physical development shows a difference in the shape of the face. When a child has Down syndrome, he/she has physical and intellectual disabilities At a young age, such children develop slowly in comparison to their peers.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, the symptoms of Down syndrome are:

- Round, flat face

- Very small chin

- flat nose

- Upturned small eyes

- Tongue sticking out of the mouth with a thick cut

- Cleft between the big toe and second toe

- A Lonely Line in the Palm (Simon Creese)

- Short neck

-White or yellow spots on the pupil of the eye (Brushfield spots)

- Shortness

- Small Head circumference

- Small and low-set ears

- Muscle weakness

-Inability to speak words clearly

-Difficulty in walking

-Most people with Down syndrome have heart problems. Some may also develop leukemia, a type of blood cancer.

People with Down syndrome learn very slowly and need to be reminded often.

- They cannot remember well and cannot change what they are doing.