AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE CAUSAL NEXUS BETWEEN ADVANCED MATERNAL AGE AND THE MANIFESTATION OF DOWN SYNDROME
BACKGROUND OF STUDY: Down syndrome is a genetic disorder caused when abnormal cell division results in an extra chromosome. This genetic disorder, which varies in severities cause lifelong intellectual disability and developmental delays and in some people it causes health problems. Down syndrome is the most common genetic chromosomal disorder and cause of learning disabilities in children. Better understanding of Down syndrome and early intervention can greatly increase the quality of life for children and adults with the disorder and help them live fulfilling lives; although it has no cure (Mayo Clinic, 2014). This syndrome took its name from John Langdon Down, an English physician who in the late 19th century was able to publish an accurate description of a person with this syndrome hence the name Down syndrome.