ALVES, Hyana Mara Gomes Ferreira.
Résumé:
The Down syndrome is the most frequent alteration chromosomal in human beings and the
main cause of intellectual deficiency in the population studying with several and complex
problems of health. Individuals afflicted with this syndrome have a higher frequency of
infections, indicating that there may be dysfunctions in the immune system. The objective of
that study was to evaluate the main present immune dysfunctions in patients with Down
syndrome. Regarding the methodological design, an integrative review was carried out, using
the following databases as the research source: Latin American and Caribbean Literature in
Health Sciences (LILACS), International Medical Published - servisse of the U.S National
Library of Medicine (PubMed) and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), selecting a
total of nine articles published in the last ten years. After analyze the selected articles, it was
found that, although some of the studies present divergent or inconclusive results, Down
syndrome has several immunological dysfunctions, with the reduction of lymphocytes B and T
being the most important and most evident among the studies. Thus, it is concluded that Down
syndrome is a genetic syndrome commonly associated with immune dysfunctions and that this
promotes an increase in the susceptibility, frequency and duration of infections in these
individuals. However, higher quality and large-scale studies are needed to better understand the
immunological mechanisms that are altered in this syndrome and thus promote a better quality
of life for people with Down syndrome.