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RESEARCHERS AT JOHNS Hopkins in the US have identified a compound that dramatically bolsters learning and memory when injected into mice with a Down syndrome-like condition on the day of birth.
The single-dose treatment appears to enable the cerebellum of the rodents’ brains to grow to normal size.
While this is a big step in the research, the scientists have cautioned that the use of the compound has not been proven safe to try in people with Down syndrome.
“Most people with Down syndrome have a cerebellum that’s about 60 per cent of the normal size,” said Roger Reeves, a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
We treated the Down syndrome-like mice with a compound we thought might normalise the cerebellum’s growth, and it worked beautifully. What we didn’t expect were the effects on learning and memory, which are generally controlled by the hippocampus, not the cerebellum.
The mice used in the experiment were genetically engineered to have extra copies of about half of the genes found on human chomosome 21. Researchers said the mice have many characteristics similar to those of people with Down syndrome, including relatively small cerebellums and difficulty learning and remembering how to navigate through a familiar space.
A compund was injected into the mice just once on their day of birth while their cerebellums were still developing and Reeves said researchers were able to “completely normalise” its growth through adulthood with that single injection.
The team noticed a change in behaviour of the mice as well as this, recording that treated mice did as well as normal ones in a water maze test.
Reeves said further tests are needed to establish why the treatment works and though it has the potential to become a human drug, there are risks such as raising the risk of cancer by triggering inappropriate growth.
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+1 for science
Interesting
That’s cool. Things are on the up.
There was an article recently about innovations in the teaching of Down Syndrome children. Add that to this and you have clear evidence that there is a marked improvement in how society views people who happen to have this condition.
The mouse model has allowed many advances in research in Down Sybdrome and because of this there is actually a real possibility that this can and will translate to human application. This research is not on the heels of the news that researchers have also managed to turn off the extra chromosome in Down This could have implications for other trisomies like trisomy 18 and trisomy 13 But presently its only been done with trisomy 21 Down Syndrome. again the mouse model allowed this research to happen. Having following research into Down Syndrome for the last 14 years I am very heartened by the advances being made. Anything that improves my sons quality of life , life span and delays the almost inevitable dementia I am all for it.
This is brilliant news, I hope it’s safe after testing.
Yeah, great news for lab mice. Delighted for them.
Pity it means next to zilch for humans.
Not really Zilch if the overall study had the aim of improving the lives of humans *in the future* like all other modern safe scientific studies. Which it did. So progress is made, slowly and safely…
Actually the development of the mouse model in Down syndrome research means in all likelihood there will be human application . It more likely depends on funding. Down syndrome is not a sexy cause for research funding and often the only reason it gets funded is due to parent fundraising or drug companies who understand that research into Down Syndrome could have Implications for Alzheimer’s disease and the huge market for any workable treatment there. Standford has led the way though in research but other researchers have made progress too.
Excuse me for being stereotypical, but every single person I have ever been in contact with that happens to have Down Syndrome, has made me that little bit happier and made me realise that the man above makes absolutely no mistakes. Whether you believe in God or science, just enjoy.
The man up stairs makes no mistakes?? So we should stop this research and probably searching for cures to cancer and aids too coz, ya know, the big man’s got shit covered. My family ha e lost children due to the health complications associated with downs – you don’t consider that a ‘mistake’
On a serious note, of you asked any parent expecting a down syndrome baby of they would like to give their child an injection the day they are born to improve their future mental capacity and prospects you’d see a 100% uptake. Hopefully that’s where this research will take us
There is no man upstairs. Down Syndrome is a condition which can restrict the quality of life for those afflicted. This research is aiming to correct the development of the cerebellum thus improving the learning capacity of the individual. This in turn has the potential to increase the quality of life for those with down syndrome.
So my son should live with differences and delays because he makes other people happy ? Nope ! My son is entitled to have as full as life as possible . While he gas an amazing capacity to make the most of what he has and the most of every minute I want things to be as easy for him as any other young teenager. By that I mean speaking. walking talking good health freedoms more friends outlets for socialising and outlets to develop his talents. He has to fight for every single thing in his life . He has to work very hard to do the basics. His Down syndrome doesn’t matter to me. I couldn’t love him more but I see more and more it does matter to him. While he is proud of who he is I know sometimes he wishes for more. I desperately want him to have more .
Was the mouse named Algernon by any chance?
If you received multiples of the normal does would it turn you in to a superhuman?
Us? Perhaps Seanie. You? Nope.
I never in my life seen a mouse with down syndrome!
I’ve never seen an old man eating a twix.
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