Swedish Researchers Found Early Signs of Alzheimer's Disease in People with Down Syndrome

Karolinska Institutet researchers from Sweden discovers the incidence and regional distributions of Alzheimer's disease biomarkers present in people's brains with Down Syndrome. According to the release by the Karolinska Institutet, the findings of the study can bring new possibilities for earlier diagnosis and preventive treatment of dementia.

In the release, the researchers said that medical advancements and technologies had made a major improvement in the life expectancy and quality of down's syndrome patients to an average of 60 years. The researchers added that 90 percent progress Alzheimer's disease when they live long enough.

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What is Down Syndrome?

According to Medical News Today, down syndrome is a chromosomal condition that occurs when an error in cell division results in an extra chromosome 21. They added that down syndrome can affect cognitive ability and physical growth, trigger mild to moderate developmental issues, and present a higher risk of some health problems. Mayo Clinic added that varies in severity among individuals causing lifelong intellectual disability and developmental delays.

In the release, the researchers said that Alzheimer's happens when clumps of amyloid from plaques around the neurons of the brain while another protein, tau, accumulates within the area which is called tangles. These by-products spread from one region of the brain to another which results in the gradual deterioration of functional impairment.

According to one of the principal authors of the study and professor from Karolinska Institutet and University of Denver, Lotta Granholm-Bentley said in the release that Previous studies of down syndrome by their research team were able to demonstrate pathological forms of amyloid and tau can appear years before someone shows symptoms of dementia.

Methods and results of the study

In the release, the researchers were able to study the amount and distribution of tau and amyloid in the brain tissue of down syndrome patients, whether they have or they do not have Alzheimer's disease diagnosis, alongside with people who have died due to Alzheimer's disease, without any underlying disease functioning.

The results of their analyses reveal that the occurrence of tau in the brain tissue down syndrome with Alzheimer's disease are much higher than patients with Alzheimer's disease alone, which indicates that tau is an early change in down syndrome.

According to the first author of the study, and professor from the Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Laetitia Lemoine said that aside from the high level of tau in the brain tissues, they also analyzed and measured the different regional distribution of tau in the brains of people with down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease comparing to the control group.

The researcher indicated in the release that traces of tau were also recorded in the brain tissue of fetuses with down syndrome. They added that early preventive measures against tau accretion will be able to prevent the progression of Alzheimer's pathology in childhood for the said patient group.

The second principal author and co-professor of Lemoine in the same institution, Agneta Nordberg said in the release that their research supports the need for continued research in the progress of amyloid plaque and tau in the brain through imaging the brains of live individuals with down syndrome. She also added that the research team aims to better understand how experts can take early steps in determining pathological changes that produce cognitive symptoms simultaneously begin the medication.

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