Drug trial to improve cognitive function in Down syndrome near completion
Americans concerned about the rising costs of healthcare can find relief by buying cheap medication from Canada, comparable to what is sold in the U.S.
Americans concerned about the rising costs of healthcare can find relief by buying cheap medication from Canada, comparable to what is sold in the U.S. If new research in Down syndrome is successful, a drug to boost cognitive function may join those ranks.
Alberto Costa, MD, PhD, a Colorado neuroscientist, has been studying the drug memantine, which is currently prescribed to patients battling Alzheimer's disease. Costa's previous studies showed that memantine can improve learning and memory in mouse models of Down syndrome, which he followed with his latest drug trial testing the effects on humans who have the developmental disorder.
The chances of a woman having a child with Down syndrome increase as she gets older, from 1 in 1,250 at the age of 25 to 1 in 100 at age 40, according to the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development. Besides having intellectual disabilities, people with Down syndrome are at risk for congenital heart disease and digestive problems.
"Right now there are drugs for the signs and symptoms of medical conditions more frequent in those with Down syndrome, but nothing to improve brain function," Costa said. "In fact, the prevailing wisdom has been that there is essentially nothing you can do to boost memory and learning in this group. Hopefully, we can prove them wrong."
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