COMPLICATION

• During the first days and months of life, some disorders can be diagnosed immediately
  
  • Enlargement of thyroid gland
    
  • Disturbance in the autonomic nervous system
    
  • Congenital hypothyroidism
    
    • abnormally low thyroid hormone production
      
• Congenital heart defect and associated early onset pulmonary hypertension:
  
  • Problems with the heart's structure that is present at birth. These defects can involve the interior walls of the heart, valves inside the heart, or the arteries and veins that carry blood to the heart or out to the body. Congenital heart defects change the normal flow of blood through the heart.
    
  • Up to 50% of individuals with Down syndrome are born with congenital heart disease. However it can now be surgically corrected resulting in long-term health improvement
    
• Alzheimer's disease
  
  • A slowly progressive disease of the brain that is characterized by impairment of memory and eventually by disturbances in reasoning, planning, language, and perception.
    
  • 25% or more of individuals with Down syndrome over the age of 35 will develop the clinical signs & symptoms of Alzheimer's type dementia.
    
• Leukaemia
  
  • A cancer of the blood or bone marrow and is characterized by an abnormal proliferation (production by multiplication) of blood cells, usually leukocytes.
    
  • 1% of individuals with Down syndrome will develop it. The majority of cases are categorized as acute megakaryoblastic leukaemia. It tends to occur in the first three years of life and it has a high cure rate. A transient form leukaemia is also seen in newborns with Down syndrome. It disappears spontaneously during the first two to three months of life.
    
• Obstructive digestive tract
  
• Problems with hearing and vision, which may affect language and learning skills
  
  • Hearing loss may be due to fluid build-up in the inner ear or structural problem of the ear.
    
  • Vision problems ranges from amblyopia (lazy eye), near of farsightedness, or an increased risk of cataracts.
    
• Seizure disorders
  
• Respiratory problems
  
• Obesity
  
• Have higher tendency to have:
  
  • Thyroid problems
    
  • Colds
    
  • Bronchial complaints
    
  • Ear infections
    
  • Skin rashes
    
  • Sore lips