Down's Syndrome: Drug Improving Memory

 

Babies born with Down's syndrome
often carry the biological markers
for Alzheimer's disease;
© panthermedia.net/G. C. Lerner

Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine have found a drug that boosts memory function in those with Down's syndrome, a major milestone in the treatment of this genetic disorder that could significantly improve quality of life.

"Before now there had never been any positive results in attempts to improve cognitive abilities in persons with Down's syndrome through medication," said Alberto Costa, who led the four- year study. "This is the first time we have been able to move the needle at all and that means improvement is possible."

Costa, an associate professor of medicine, and his colleagues studied 38 adolescents and young adults with Down's syndrome. Half took the drug memantine, used to treat Alzheimer's disease, and the others took a placebo.

Costa's research team hypothesised that memantine, which improved memory in mice with Down's syndrome, could increase test scores of young adults with the disorder in the area of spatial and episodic memory, functions associated with the hippocampus region of the brain.

Participants underwent a 16-week course of either memantine or a placebo while scientists compared the adaptive and cognitive function of the two groups.

While they found no major difference between the groups in adaptive and most measures of cognitive ability, researchers discovered that those taking memantine showed significant improvement in verbal episodic memory. One of the lowest functioning individuals in the study saw a ten-fold increase in memory skills.

"People who took the medicine and memorised long lists of words did significantly better than those who took the placebo," said Costa. "This is a first step in a longer quest to see how we can improve the quality of life for those with Down's syndrome."

Currently, there are drugs that treat the symptoms of medical conditions associated with Down's syndrome but nothing to improve brain function. But in 2007 Costa demonstrated that memantine could improve memory in mice with Down's syndrome. He then set out to replicate those findings in a human trial of the drug.

REHACARE.de; Source: University of Colorado Denver