University of Colorado scientists have of a small but encouraging clinical trial of a drug that鈥檚 improved the memories of young adults with Down syndrome. It鈥檚 the latest finding in one researcher鈥檚 16 year quest that is both personal and scientific.
Alberto Costa鈥檚 daughter is 17 years old. But in a way, she鈥檚 already middle aged.
鈥淎t age 35, 40, every single person with Down syndrome, and I鈥檓 talking about 100%, have the pathology of 础濒锄丑别颈尘别谤鈥檚 in their brain,鈥澛爏ays Dr. Costa, a professor at the University of Colorado Medical School.
His years of research on how a third copy of chromosome 21 causes cognitive problems suggest that it鈥檚 not just that patients get earlier and more often. Genes on that extra chromosome turn out to change the function of a type of brain receptor called NMDA.
鈥淐ontrary to what most people would think,鈥� Costa says, 鈥渨hat we found out is that that receptor seems to be overactive in people with Down Syndrome.鈥�
A drug was already on the market that could tamp activity of the receptor back down: , approved to treat none other than 础濒锄丑别颈尘别谤鈥檚. Costa thought the drug could improve the mental abilities of Down Syndrome patients.
"...there was an improvement between 30 and 50 percent..."
He first , with success, and then moved to young adults.
Costa found the drug had no effect on most measures of cognitive ability鈥攅xcept for one that asked patients to remember a long list of words.
鈥淚n average, there was an improvement between 30 and 50 percent improvement for the group who took memantine,鈥� says Costa.
It鈥檚 not quite the slam dunk Costa imagined based on his earlier experiments with mice, but it fits with what he鈥檚 learned about memory in Down Syndrome.
鈥淚 think the most important question here is whether this will actually translate into a long term benefit for those with Down Syndrome,鈥� says Costa. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 a question that can only be answered with a longer and larger study.鈥�
Until then, Dr. Costa is adamant that the drug shouldn鈥檛 be used in people with Down Syndrome. But he鈥檚 buoyed by the prospect of being able to do something to help his daughter, and to give hope to other parents when most efforts are focused on prevention, not treatment.
鈥淚f I even had that kind of glimmer of hope way back then, 17 years ago,鈥� he says, 鈥淚 think life would have been a whole lot easier back then.鈥�
