December 21, 2018
The director of the Iranian Genetics Society says the birth of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome has almost completely ended across the country.
“Over the past few years, only one baby was born with Down syndrome in 700 to 1,000 births in Iran,” Mahmud Tavalai said, asserting that the syndrome has been completely controlled in the country.
He described it as a great success, and said it has been achieved by promoting public awareness, pre-natal diagnostic tests, and the use of unexplained scientific accomplishments.
There is no known cure for Down syndrome. Pre-natal tests can often detect the disorder and the main way to reduce the number of births is by abortion. But Tavalai said nothing about abortion.
“The probability of this syndrome in boys is greater than in girls. The most important factor is the age of mothers. It means the older the mother is, the greater is the risk,” he said.
Down syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is typically associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual disability, and characteristic facial features. The average IQ of a young adult with Down syndrome is 50, equivalent to the mental ability of an 8 or 9-year-old child, but this can vary widely.
The parents of the affected individual are typically genetically normal. The probability increases from less than 0.1% in 20-year-old mothers to 3% in those age 45. The extra chromosome is believed to occur by chance, with no known behavioral activity or environmental factor that changes the probability.
Wikipedia says, “Down syndrome can be identified during pregnancy by pre-natal screening followed by diagnostic testing or, after birth, by direct observation and genetic testing. Since the introduction of screening, pregnancies with the diagnosis are often terminated by abortion.”