Scientists Link Down Syndrome And Alzheimer's - Byrd Alzheimer's Institute Researchers Study Abnormal Cells Found

March 04, 2008

TAMPA - Research by scientists at the Johnnie B. Byrd, Sr., Alzheimer's Center & Research Institute and the University of South Florida Suncoast Alzheimer's and Gerontology Center suggests Alzheimer's disease may be a form of Down Syndrome.

The new study shows that the mutant genes that cause Alzheimer's also lead to the creation of Down Syndrome cells during the normal process of cell division. In healthy cell division, cells receive a pair of each chromosome. In the mutant process, normal cells become Down Syndrome cells with the addition of a third copy of chromosome 21. All people born with Down Syndrome develop the memory loss and cognitive decline of Alzheimer's disease by age 30 or 40.

Understanding the link between Down Syndrome and Alzheimer's disease - that they are partly the same disease - has potentially important implications for both diagnosis and therapy, said Dr. Huntington Potter, CEO and Scientific Director of the Byrd Alzheimer's Institute. "If we can detect Down Syndrome cells in people who are not yet showing Alzheimer's symptoms, we have the opportunity for early intervention," Potter said. "Because we know Down Syndrome cells are present in people with Alzheimer's, we can also research ways to stop those cells from developing or even identify and destroy them before they cause Alzheimer's."

The new finding adds to a growing body of evidence from the Byrd Alzheimer's Institute, the University of South Florida and other investigators that shows Alzheimer's patients contain many cells with three copies of chromosome 21, called trisomy 21, in all tissues of the body and thus are partially Down Syndrome. The experiment results are outlined in current editions of the journals "Neurobiology of Aging" and "Future Neurology." Read the full findings at www.ByrdInstitute.org.

About the Byrd Alzheimer's Institute

The mission of the Johnnie B. Byrd, Sr. Byrd Alzheimer's Center & Research Institute is to collaborate with researchers throughout the State of Florida and the wider global research community to develop treatments to cure and prevent Alzheimer's disease. The Institute provides a physical location--the world's largest freestanding research center dedicated to Alzheimer's research--that conducts state-of-the-art research, in addition to serving as the site for coordinating and facilitating Florida's various efforts to diagnose, treat and prevent the disease.

About Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's is a progressive neurological condition that attacks the brain and results in cognitive problems, such as memory loss, impaired thinking, and inappropriate or maladaptive behavior. The disease affects 4.5 million Americans, including 450,000 Floridians. It is the most common form of dementia.