Detection of Genetic Abnormalities in the Fetus

Pregnant women are often bothered by feeling worried about the health of future babies. To wipe out anxiety, is now already available tests to detect early on whether the baby to be born has a birth defect or congenital abnormality.

Examination of genetic abnormality is generally done by women who previously gave birth to children with birth defects or have a history of genetic disease in their families, such as fibrosis, thalassemia and other cell abnormalities. As such, can know whether their baby is exposed to the disease or not.

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Preventing Mental Retardation

Mental retardation is a weakness that occurs in the function of intellect. The ability of mentally retarded people fail to grow properly. Mental, intelligence, feelings, and his will be at a low level, so that the relevant experience barriers to adjustment.

Here are some ways that can be done to prevent the occurrence of mental retardation:

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Causes of Mental Retardation

In the United States the prevalence of this disorder is 3:100 people (The Arc, 2001). American Psychiatric Association year 2000 (in Rathus, 2005, h.149-153) states the cause of mental retardation can be caused by:

Down syndrome and other chromosomal abnormalities 
Wade in 2000 declared the most common chromosomal abnormality that causes mental retardation is Down syndrome which is characterized by the presence of excess chromosome or a third chromosome on the 21st chromosome pair, resulting in chromosome number to 47.

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Genetic Disorders Causing Mental Retardation

Scientists in the United States identified the genetic disorder that causes retardation or mental retardation and epilepsy. Disturbance of small segments of DNA code is missing, as revealed by the research team leader from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Washington Evan Eichler, also cause malformations, the abnormality of form or structure of organs.

Evan Eichler led the team consists of 33 researchers from the U.S., Italy and Britain to menscreening entire genomes of 757 individuals with mental retardation. Syndrome is still not known his name is associated with a small segment of DNA code found in one out of 330 cases of retardation with the causes that have not been clear. This syndrome is estimated to affect one out of 40,000 general population.

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