Down’s Syndrome May Be Treatable in the Womb
Parents and siblings of children with Down’s Syndrome are amazing people, as are the children themselves. Often times, the family members learn so much from the child with Down’s, but it is definitely a challenge I can only imagine. As a pregnant mother, I refused all testing that would have revealed if I had a child with Down’s, as I would like to think I would have delivered, accepted, and loved my child no matter what. I had two friends who received false positive results on their AFP tests, but they delivered healthy babies.
Often times, families chose to abort rather than birth a child with Down’s, but now there is hope this syndrome can be treated in utero.
According to News Scientist:
When fetal mouse pups that had a syndrome similar to Down’s were treated with nerve-protecting chemicals, some of the developmental delays that are part of the condition were removed.
Children with Down’s have an extra copy of chromosome 21, while mice engineered to have a similar condition are given an extra copy of a segment of chromosome 16. In both species, the development of certain motor and sensory abilities is delayed. These “trisomic” individuals may also have learning difficulties and symptoms of Alzheimer’s later in life.
Inhibiting the neurotransmitter GABA in trisomic mice can improve cognition and some have suggested this could be used in children. It would be even better, however, to treat Down’s before a child is born and so improve cognitive potential.
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As a mother of a child who has experienced developmental delays due to a congenital heart defect, I believe I would undergo in utero treatment to have eliminated these delays. We need to accept humans in all shapes, sizes, and conditions, but it is wonderful that we can also heal them and provide them with a healthier life.
Armed with this knowledge, Catherine Spong and colleagues at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, injected NAP and SAL into mice pregnant with trisomic pups in the middle of their pregnancy. When the pups were born, they reached developmental milestones such as grasping a rod, righting themselves and responding to tactile stimulation at the same time as normal mice (Obstetrics and Gynecology, vol 112, p 1242). “We were able to prevent a significant amount of the delay,” says Spong.
If this research leads to treatment and less termination, than I think it would be a blessing. I’d be interested to know how families with children with Down’s Syndrome feel about this study.
Image: Down’s Support
I am 20 weeks pregnant now and at our ultrasound the doctors let us know that our baby boy is exhibiting a sign of Down Syndrome. We will go full term no matter what, but we are proceeding to do more testing, just to put the matter to rest. It’s fascinating to think they’re making advances to alleviate the syndrome all together. Thanks for sharing.
Good luck ClothDiaperGirl. I have known some amazing people with Down’s, but you may end up with a “normal” baby after all. Be sure to go to the best for future testing. My friend had a horrible experience at a hospital that misread level 2 ultrasounds until she went to UCSF and found out her baby was fine.
Beware of all this “new science stuff”. Many times there are Press Reports that are either erroneous or just reporting very preliminary results.Only after long term clinical trials should you start to trust this stuff.
Our oldest child died of Malignant Melanoma in 1982 and there have been many reports of “cures” all have come to nothing.In the same year we had a baby boy who was a Downs syndrome baby.It took a long time for me to accept his downs. I looked at surgery etc to make him look “normal” ,but came to realize that he was himself, I was the one who had to change. When people talk of drugs and changes I wonder if they really want a normal child or a “normal looking ” child?
Lastly I would recommend any body to abort rather than continue with a downs pregnancy.You would be insane to continue. You have absolutely no idea of the pain, torture that you will put yourself through. Today there seems to be a “I can do it” and “I should be able to do it” complex. B.S. This is not something selfish,this is your life and if it goes badly it will affect your child very badly. My wife and I ultimately divorced. I’ve seen couples live together with no love, afraid to have sex in case “it” happens again, so all the love dies.Couples who are determined to be Dr.Spocks and make this kid the best possible.They push their Downs kids so much she was pulling her hair out.Parents solution ? Shave her head.
My son was a great wonderful kid, we raised him as normal as we could. Regular school etc and then a Group Home and his own job. We also went through two open heart operations and a heart pacemaker with him. Due to the blood thinner medication he had a fatal aneurysm at age 23 three years ago.
So if you are sitting and wondering what to do, think of what the future will hold. I loved him more than life but would never want to do it again.
Andrew, thank you for sharing your personal story.
It is true to be cautious of such results, as they are only being tested with mice currently and may not transfer to humans.
It is a very hard decission to make because on one side you wont want to have a child that will suffer and you as a parent will think will i get help financially for my child? so many questions will pass trough your mind. Then u will think ok this child did not as to be in my womb an it is already here and to abort it will be forever on my mind. So in that way i think they should take the responsebility and bring forth that child and just fight for the best.
IM VERY HAPPY WITH MY CHILD I JUST WISH PEOPLE WOULD UNDERSTAND MY CHILDS DISABILITY…THEY ALWAYS ASK ME IF I WAS TAKING DRUGS…OR IF MY HUSBAND WAS..I JUST SAY NO!!!! PLZ HELP IN GETTING MORE INFORMATION OUT THERE.THANKS=)