Bourgeoning Scientific Research in Down Syndrome

Excerpt

The earliest evidence of existence of individuals with Down syndrome (DS) dates to ancient art in Mesoamerica. Furthermore, analysis of bone structure from graves in France, California, and Ireland suggests that individuals with DS were part of our societies for millennia. In more modern medical terms, DS was described in the mid-1800s by scientists in France and England [1, 2]. A century later, in 1959, the genetic underpinning was described leading to now the synonymous term trisomy 21 (although the genetics of DS can be substantially more complex) [3]. Either way, tremendous progress has been made over the last half a century in the medical treatment of individuals with DS. The life expectancy for individuals with DS went from about 30 years in the 1980s to about 60 years in 2020 [4]. But there is much more we can, should, and actually are doing to understand physiology of individuals with DS. In this issue of JoCI, a review article and a research article are dedicated to immunology in individuals with DS. …