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Down Syndrome NSW
Level 6/410 Church St, North Parramatta
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T: 9841 444


Wednesday 18 December 2013

Research news and commentary update #11 for 2013

Archery, Jellyfish and Down Syndrome Research
Kelly Higgins-Devine, Afternoons, ABC Radio Brisbane) 26th November 2013
If you were to guess the things that may help memory and brain function in people withDown Syndrome, would you ever have thought of an ingredient that used to be in cough medicine? The same ingredient BTD-001, was used in the 1980s to help people with senile dementia until medical regulations changed. Audio file (6m 35s)

Dr Cameron Cooke is an orthopedic and trauma surgeon at the Princess Alexandra and Mater hospitals and principal investigator with the research project. He spoke with Afternoons presenter Kelly Higgins-Devine about the compound and what it could mean to people with Down Syndrome.

Linking Alzheimer's and Down Syndrome
Lisa Marshall, Colorado University Medicine Today, November 2013
Is Alzheimer’s disease an acquired form of Down syndrome?
That question, so provocative in 1991 when Huntington Potter, PhD, first posed it that fewer than a dozen research groups around the globe dared explore it, today is sparking renewed interest in the scientific community as evidence grows stronger that the two conditions are inextricably linked ...


UC San Diego Launches Unprecedented Down Syndrome StudyUC San Diego Health System, 16th December 2013
To many, Down syndrome (DS) is a childhood condition. But improved health care means that individuals with DS now routinely reach age 50 or 60 years of age, sometimes beyond. However, if they live long enough, people with Down syndrome are almost certain to develop Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Risk estimates vary, but the National Down Syndrome Society says that nearly 25 percent of individuals with DS over the age of 35 show signs of Alzheimer’s-type dementia, a percentage that dramatically increases with age. Almost all develop dementia by the age of 60.

“The more we learn about Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease, the more we realize these conditions – one seen at birth, the other quite late in life – are two sides of the same coin,” said William C. Mobley, MD, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Neurosciences at UC San Diego School of Medicine ...


New genetic screen for Down syndrome to reduce risks of invasive tests
Curtin University (Western Australia), 16th December 2013
... “Our study sought to analyse how cost-effective it would be to include a new non-invasive prenatal test as a second-tier test to provide a more accurate risk estimate, prior to offering invasive testing.”

The study reviewed 32,478 single baby pregnancies screened between January 2005 and December 2006 in Western Australia and found by including the new non-invasive test, the number of invasive diagnostic procedures and procedure-related miscarriages would have been reduced in high-risk women by 88 per cent ...


Research participants needed!
Lynette Roberts from University of NSW is seeking people aged between 18-60 with Down Syndrome to participate in a research study on memory development in adults with Down Syndrome.

The study is a once-off session on-campus, parking is free and you will receive a $20 Coles-Myer gift certificate. The participant will also get to choose a gift to take home at the end of the session.

For further information, please contact Lynette Roberts on 0405 721 076 or at lynette.roberts@unsw.edu.au

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