What are the facial characteristics of Down syndrome?
What are the facial characteristics of Down syndrome?
Some common characteristics present in people with the disorder include distinctive facial features, such as slanting eyes, small chin, round face, flat nasal bridge, Brushfield spots in the iris, abnormal outer ears, and flattened nose.
Why do people with Down syndrome have same faces?
Why do people with Down syndrome look the same? They have an extra chromosome or part of an extra chromosome. Researchers believe that this extra genetic material affects growth of the maxilla (part of the skull) and the bone, cartilage, and connective tissue in the head, known as the cranial neural crest.
Can someone have Down syndrome and look normal?
People with mosaic Down syndrome have a mixture of cells. Some have two copies of chromosome 21, and some have three. Mosaic Down syndrome occurs in about 2 percent of all Down syndrome cases. People with mosaic Down syndrome often, but not always, have fewer symptoms of Down syndrome because some cells are normal.
Do people with Down syndrome have bigger heads?
Height and weight — Babies with Down syndrome are usually smaller than other babies, and they have smaller heads. They may also grow more slowly and may never reach the same heights that typical children do.
What do Down syndrome eyes look like?
Unusually Shaped Eyes An infant with down syndrome will commonly have eyes that slant upward, oftentimes with a fold of skin from the upper eyelid that covers one of the inner corners of the eye. This sign is more obvious than Brushfield spots but can be discerned in much the same way by looking into an infant’s eyes.
Why do kids with Down syndrome wear glasses?
Refractive errors (need for glasses) – Children with Down syndrome are more likely to need glasses than other children. This may be due to myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), and/or astigmatism. Refractive error may develop early in life or later on.
