[Source: Medical XPress.com]
A University of Colorado School of Medicine scientist is finishing a major clinical trial on a drug that could boost cognitive function in those with Down syndrome, significantly improving their quality of life and representing a potential milestone in research on this genetic disorder.
“We are hoping to enhance memory and learning in those with Down syndrome,” said Alberto Costa, MD, Ph.D., an associate professor of medicine and the neuroscientist leading the effort. “We have been studying this drug for three years and are now ready to analyze the data on our trial. Our team at the University of Colorado and Children’s Hospital Colorado expects to have the results in the next two or three months.”
Costa, whose work was chronicled in last Sunday’s New York Times Magazine, (A Drug for Down Syndrome), is tested the drug memantine, currently used to relieve symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, in 39 people with Down syndrome. About half received the drug and the others a placebo. In 2007, Costa demonstrated that memantine could improve memory function in mice with Down syndrome.
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