Alzheimer’s Clues Sought Studying Link to Down Syndrome

by Elizabeth Lopatto from Bloomberg:

Research to unravel for the first time the complex genetic mechanisms shared by Alzheimer’s disease and Down syndrome is gaining momentum in studies by Johnson & Johnson and patient advocacy groups.

By age 40, almost everyone with Down syndrome has beta amyloid deposits in their brains reflective of the protein clumps seen in Alzheimer’s in the general population, autopsy and imaging studies show. By age 50, half have dementia.

While the high incidence in Down patients has been noted for decades, scientists are only now seeking to use the quicker progression to gauge how Alzheimer’s grows in the general population. At a time when drug companies have been frustrated in their efforts to slow the disease, the link to Down syndrome may hold the promise of a new path forward toward finding an effective treatment.

“In a way, Down syndrome is a model disease for Alzheimer’s,” said Mike Krams, vice-president of quantitative sciences at J&J’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals unit, which will meet Nov. 15 to discuss a three-year pilot study.
Not everyone with Down syndrome shows signs of dementia as they age, even as the amyloid accumulates. Finding out what prevents Alzheimer’s in these patients may provide clues for the general population, Krams said by telephone.
The New Brunswick, New Jersey-based company is developing a drug meant to stop or slow beta amyloid formation by preventing a parent protein from being cut into smaller parts. Because Down syndrome patients have extra amounts of this precursor protein, they may benefit from that drug, Krams said.

Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome Co-Hosts Workshop on Cognition in Down Syndrome in Washington, D.C., on April 13-15

Workshop will bring top scientists together to share discoveries, explore collaborations
from the Herald Online:
The Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome will co-host the “Workshop on Cognition in Down Syndrome – Molecular, Cellular and Behavioral Features and the Promise of Pharmacotherapies” April 13-15 in Washington, D.C. The workshop will bring top scientists together to share discoveries and explore collaborations with the aim to improve the lives of people with Down syndrome.

Katheleen Gardiner, Ph.D., a professor at the Crnic Institute and the University of Colorado School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics, is the workshop’s organizer. This is the third international workshop she has organized on Down syndrome and the biology of chromosome 21.

Gardiner received a grant from the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation to organize the workshop and the past two workshops she organized in 2004 and 2007. More than 130 experts from a variety of scientific disciplines are expected to attend the workshop.

“Our invited speakers are not Down syndrome researchers but may be interested in a specific gene on chromosome 21 or in some other type or specific feature of intellectual disability,” Gardiner said. “They may be persuaded to think about doing Down syndrome research and/or provide new ideas, research tools or perspectives to current Down syndrome researchers.”

DSRTF and NDSS Host Special Down Syndrome Awareness Month Webinar

         

from the DSRTF and NDSS:

"We really are on the verge of a revolution," says Dr. Roger Reeves of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. As one of the preeminent figures in the field of Down syndrome cognition research, he's in a unique position to know. With almost 30 years of experience in the field, Dr. Reeves has studied DS since his postdoctoral days, when the condition was still believed to be too complex to treat. It's thanks to the sustained efforts of researchers and advocates like Dr. Reeves that we now understand that cognitive improvements for people with Down syndrome are not only possible, but within reach. Those efforts are showing exciting results. With recent advances, Dr. Reeves says, "the game has changed for people with Down syndrome."

Learn what that means for the future on Tuesday, October 16 at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET when Dr. Reeves joins us for a webinar to discuss current topics in DS research and his own groundbreaking work.

This one-hour presentation is a special collaboration between the Down Syndrome Research and Treatment Foundation (DSRTF) and the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) in celebration of Down Syndrome Awareness Month. 

Register now to attend  [LINK: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/649840498 ], then join us on the 16th and find out why the future looks brighter than ever for people with Down syndrome.

You can submit questions in advance to be answered as time permits. [LINK: mailto:dsrtf@dsrtf.org?subject=Webinar question for Dr. Reeves ]  

We hope you'll join us on Tuesday 10/16/2012.

Research Down Syndrome Announces 2012/2013 Grant Awards to Fund Down Syndrome Cognitive Research

by Research Down Syndrome:

Research Down Syndrome (RDS) has announced funding for six grants to support Down syndrome cognitive research. The grant total represents a fifty percent increase over grants awarded by RDS in 2011.

RDS is committed to supporting the identification of the causes of the intellectual impairments associated with Down syndrome and to facilitating the development of pharmacological therapies to improve memory, learning and communication in persons with Down syndrome. Encouraging progress has been made over a very short time. A human clinical trial was initiated in the fall of 2011, less than a decade after the support of private foundations stimulated the progress of Down syndrome cognitive research.

Research Down Syndrome, among the leading sources of private funding for Down syndrome related cognitive research, prioritizes funding towards programs with a high probability of readily contributing to the development of safe and effective therapies.  Continued private donations are needed to support the constantly expanding research efforts that will lead to potential medical treatments. The 2012/2013 RDS Research Grants include:

1. Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine:  RDS Research Center Grant entitled "A Down Syndrome Virtual Center for Basic and Translational Studies- Cognition and Therapies in Down Syndrome"    
2. University of California, San Diego School of Medicine:  RDS Research Center Grant entitled "Defining the Genes and Mechanisms Causing Neurodegeneration in Down Syndrome and Discovering Effective Treatments" - Pilot Proposal entitled "21Lab: A Collaborative Data Sharing and Data Integration Platform for the Down Syndrome Research Community"
3. University of Arizona:  RDS Innovation Research Grant entitled "The Neuropsychology of Down Syndrome"
4. Stanford University School of Medicine: RDS Innovation Research Grant entitled "Mechanisms Underlying the Roles of Sleep and Circadian Rhythms in the Learning Disability of Down Syndrome"
5. VA Palo Alto Health Care System: RDS Innovation Research Pilot Grant entitled "Improving Adrenergic Signaling for the Treatment of cognitive Dysfunction in Down Syndrome"
6. University of Texas, Austin:  RDS Innovation Research Pilot Grant entitled "Genetic Analysis of Excessive Inhibitory Signaling in Down Syndrome"

Detailed information on these grants can be found at: www.researchds.org

 

About Research Down Syndrome

Research Down Syndrome (RDS) is among the leading sources of private funding for Down syndrome related cognitive research.  RDS supports and funds Down syndrome cognitive research conducted at research institutions that are studying the basis of the intellectual impairments associated with Down syndrome, including Alzheimer's disease. Research Down Syndrome is a legal corporate entity, and is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization designated by the Internal Revenue Code.  For more information, go to www.researchds.org, or contact RDS:  info@researchds.org or 847.710.2251.

SOURCE Research Down Syndrome

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/10/08/4892505/research-down-syndrome-announces.html#storylink=cpy