American scientists believe they have found a way to ‘switch off’ the extra chromosome that causes Down’s syndrome.

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have managed to prevent the condition in human cells in a laboratory.

They believe that this breakthrough could eventually lead to treatments for the syndrome.
Down’s Syndrome is a genetic condition that causes learning disabilities and a characteristic range of physical features. It occurs as a result of an extra chromosome called chromosome 21

Down’s Syndrome is a genetic condition that causes learning disabilities and a characteristic range of physical features. It occurs as a result of an extra chromosome called chromosome 21

Gene therapy has already been used to treat medical problems that result from the presence of one defective gene, but this is the first time that silencing the impact of a whole chromosome has become a possibility.

The BBC reports that the breakthrough means that this could now be possible. However, it will require many more years of research.

A team of scientists at the university added a gene called XIST to lab-grown stem cells with Down’s syndrome.

This gene is important in natural cell development as it turns off one of the two X chromosomes that are […]