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M.Laskowskaetal.
7
DownSyndrome
Downsyndrome(DS)isthemostcommonexampleofaneurogenetic
aneuploiddisorderleadingtomentalretardation.Inmostcases,DSresultsfrom
anextracopyofhumanchromosome21producingderegulatedgene
expressionsinthebrain,thatgivesraisetosubnormalintellectualfunctioning
[6].Downsyndromewasthesubjectofaseriesoflettersand,later,several
articlesdiscussingitsdepictioninvariouspaintingsofthe17thcenturyand
later.ThisdiseasecarriestheeponymofLangdonDown,whodescribedthe
conditionin1866inhismonograph“ObservationsofanEthnicClassification
ofIdiots”butwasalsodescribedbySeguinandlaterbyothers[2,7].
OneoftheearliestpaintingsofsomeonewithDown’ssyndromeis
aFlemishpaintingbyanunknownartist“TheAdorationoftheChristChild”
(oilonwood,TheMetropolitanMuseumofArt,NewYork,USA),which
isdatedapproximately1515.Itshowsanangel(nexttoMary)andpossiblyone
otherfigure,theshepherdinthecentreofthebackground-withthesyndrome.
ThediagnosisofDown’ssyndromeintheangelwasbasedonanumber
offeatures:aflattenedmid-face,epicanthalfolds,upslantedpalpebralfissures,
asmallandupturnedtipofthenose,anddownwardcurvingofthecorners
ofthemouth.Thehands,crossedoverthebreast,haveshortfingers,especially
ontheleft(Fig.1)[8].Beyond,“TheAdorationoftheChristChild”,thereare
alotofpaintingsbyEuropeanartistsprovidingpurportedevidence
oftheexistenceofDownsyndromebeforeDown'sidentification.Amongthese
thereareinstancesofchildrenwhoseappearanceshavebeensuggestive
orfirmlyindicativeofDownsyndrometosomeobservers.
