Mercury and down syndrome??!
Question: well, okay, long story, but:
Okay, so my friend hannah. Her mom told us a "story". In her generation, no one knew the effects of mercury. She played with it, and "no problems"
then, or should I say, now. She had 2 kids, my friend hannah, and her little bro, jeremy (R.I.P.). he was born with down syndrome, and lived till he was, i think 4 or 6.
could the mercury be a cause?
Answers: well, okay, long story, but:
Okay, so my friend hannah. Her mom told us a "story". In her generation, no one knew the effects of mercury. She played with it, and "no problems"
then, or should I say, now. She had 2 kids, my friend hannah, and her little bro, jeremy (R.I.P.). he was born with down syndrome, and lived till he was, i think 4 or 6.
could the mercury be a cause?
it's very unlikely. down's syndrome is caused by a chromosomal abnormality. the most common cause is "trisomy 21". the normal person has 2 chromosomes in each pair... a down's person has one extra chromosome usually located on the 21st pair... so they have 3 instead of 2. the most common theory related to down's is the age of the mother. the chances of having a down's baby increases dramatically after age 35. also, an older father has a higher chance of fathering a down's baby... i think the age for men is 45. several years back almost everyone played with mercury and it was often used in science classes in middle and high school. if mercury was the cause there would be significantly more down's children born. here are some links with more information about the condition
http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/medical...
http://www.faqs.org/health/Sick-V2/Down-...
http://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/DSA_Faq...