By Kevin McKinney
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Is marked by severe variable
abnormalities of the head, thumbs,
ears, mouth, and feet. (2)
•A gamete is produced with an
extra copy in chromosome set #
18
•Now the gamete has 24
chromosomes. When paired with
a normal gamete, the embryo has
47 chromosomes, opposed to the
normal 46. (1)
•Edwards Syndrome is in the category of a
serious birth defect.(4)
•It is a rare genetic disorder caused by
irregularities with the 18th chromosomal
pair.(4)
•The karyotype has
an extra
chromosome in
chromosome set #
18. (1)
Approximately 1/3,000
babies will have Edwards
syndrome before given
birth, and die.(1)
 Approximately 1/6,000
babies born will have
Edwards syndrome.(1)
 Edwards syndrome has a
very low survival rate
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50% of live born babies live up to two months
old.(1)
5-10% of babies live through their first year.(1)
1% of children live to age 10.(1)
Trisomy 18 effects males and females of any race
in the same way.
It is three times more common for a female to be
born with Trisomy 18, then a male.(1)
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Some of the characteristics/
symptoms of trisomy 18
are;
Clenched hands, crossed legs, low birth
weight, low-set ears, small head, small
jaw, unusual shaped chest, and
underdeveloped fingernails.(3)
Babies are not able to grow
up/crawl around/function like
a normal baby.
This is the only form of
Edwards syndrome.
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There are no true treatments for
trisomy 18, most children die of a
very young age.(3)
Typically treatments are not an
option due to the severity of the
baby's heart defects.(3)
To know if your child has trisomy
18, check your baby's karyotype.
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Trisomy 18 was named after John H. Edwards,
from (1928-2007) who first discovered/
described the syndrome in 1960. (1)
There are no famous people with Trisomy 18
because roughly 99% of humans with Edwards
syndrome die before 10 years old.
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The Trisomy 18 foundation is one of the biggest
foundations for Edwards Syndrome.
There missions are to search for a cure/
treatment, to educate and support, and to
create a caring worldwide community.
The main foundation is located in Dale City,
Virginia.
To get a hold of the Foundation go to
www.Trisomy18Foundation.com or call 810867-4211
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwards_syndrome (1)
Dickerson, Louise, and Bryan Cobb, PhD. “genetic
disorders.” The gale encyclopedia of science. Ed. k. Lee
Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner. 4th. Ed. Vol.3.
Detroit: Gale, 2008. 1889-1894 gale virtual reference
Library. Web. 10 Dec. 2010 (2)
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/fh/mcshn/bd/t
risomy18.pdf (3)
www.wisegeek.com/what-is-edwards-syndrome.html
(4)