There is the cane down? On the main social networks such as Instagram and Facebook, photos of dogs and cats circulate whose somatic traits recall Down syndrome.
According to some studies it is a similarity in physical appearance, but the pathologies are very different.
What is Down Syndrome or Trisomy 21?
Down syndrome is one genetic disease due to the presence of a extra chromosome than the norm in the individual’s equipment.
The cell nucleus of humans contains 23 pairs of chromosomes. The chromosomes contain all the genetic makeup stored within them in the form of genes. One can think of the latter as the “instructions” that guide the development of the individual. In this specific case, the balance is altered due to the presence of a third chromosome, present on the 21st pair: hence the name “trisomy 21”.
People with down syndrome often have a degree of intellectual deficit, which can vary from individual to individual, but it is above all the physical characteristics typical of this syndrome that have found many similarities with the animal world.
In this regard, i symptoms that have aroused interest in the existence of dogs with down syndrome are mainly:
- Small head and short neck;
- Flat face, flat nose and forehead;
- Small ears;
- Poor muscle tone and joint problems;
- Below average body weight and height;
Individuals affected by the chromosome 21 alteration also often report recurring health problemssuch as progressive hearing loss, ear infections, sleep apnea, heart and eye disorders.
Can pets have down syndrome?
Dogs have 39 pairs of chromosomes, therefore the genetic information they contain is distributed differently than that of other beings, including humans. The presence of the third chromosome in position 21 therefore, it does not determine the same manifestations of down syndrome in humans and in our four-legged friend.
The difficulty in defining precisely whether or not it is a down dog derives from the fact that:
- There are no in-depth studies of veterinary research communities;
- Apparently, puppies with down syndrome do not survive after birth.
Studies in this regard are scarce because it is to be known that down syndrome in dogs is very much rara compared to what occurs in humans: in our species it is a disease that occurs on average in 1 individual out of 700.
It also seems that a Down dog dies even before being born. In the event that they manage to survive, within a few years (or even months) they develop cognitive and physiological difficulties, for which they are unable to eat properly and be autonomous. The mother sometimes rejects them and does not look after them, according to a natural instinct of conservation of the species.
A dog with down syndrome is rare, but not impossible
If from a genetic point of view the pathological conditions are different, we cannot ignore them phenotypic similarities (of physical appearance) found in the dog and other animal species, including the tiger and the chimpanzee.
So how do you explain? It is possible that in very rare cases, several multigenic anomalies combine to give rise to one overlapping symptoms to that of the exclusively human syndrome.
Dog down: symptoms similar to other special dogs
It appears much more likely that other diseases give rise to conditions in dogs and other animal species similar to those of Down syndrome in humans. In particular, these are pathologies such as:
These pathologies can in fact lead general health problems come:
- slow growth;
- small stature;
- short limbs;
- abnormal gait;
- intellectual deficit;
- poor muscle tone.
To these can be added other complications, congenital or secondary, which can aggravate the clinical picture of the animal.
Il strong bond that unites us and our 4-legged pets pushes us to humanize them, looking for properly human characteristics in them. The universe of genetics still has many mysteries to reveal, but what we can say with certainty is that the possibility of having a Down dog is really rare. On the other hand, it is more probable that there are equally important conditions capable of affecting Fido’s life: only a careful and thorough visit by the veterinarian can lead to a correct diagnosis and consequently to the most suitable treatment.