[tri-med] new drug study

DENVER - Medical researchers in Colorado say it is promising. They have 
uncovered clues that could help reverse the learning deficits associated 
with Down syndrome.


The work has been done at the University of Colorado at Denver Health 
Sciences Center. The results have the potential to help the 350,000 people 
in the United States who have Down syndrome.

One in every 733 children is born with it and the numbers are growing 
everyday.

Sophia Whitten, 4, is a joyful, energetic and beautiful little girl. Sophia 
also has Down syndrome.

Her mom, Michelle Sie Whitten, said most people underestimate people with 
Down syndrome.

"People have no idea what our kids are capable of. There are people with 
Down syndrome driving and getting married. Twenty years ago they were 
institutionalized and had a life span of 28 years old," said Whitten.

Whitten says much more progress is needed. She says medical research is 
critical to address other obstacles.

"In terms of learning it does take longer and there are more challenges in 
terms of math in particular," she said.

That is where the new findings could really be significant. The research 
tested the effectiveness of memantine. It is an FDA-approved drug already 
being used to treat patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Forty mice with an animal model of Down syndrome were given the drug for two 
years. They were found to have better memory retention and showed increased 
learning.

The lead author of the study was Alberto Costa, MD, PhD, and associate 
professor of medicine and neuroscience at the CU-Denver School of Medicine.

"It is exciting. It is a glimmer of hope that it is something that will be 
able to help children with Down syndrome," he said.

It is something that is very close to Costa's heart. His 12-year-old 
daughter has Down syndrome.

"The hope here basically now is that we can translate what we found to be 
true in the lab into human research now. While it is hard to predict, I 
think it is very realistic to think (it would translate to humans) because 
those mice have the same sort of biological underlying problems as people 
with Down syndrome," said Costa.

There are 93 conditions that the federal government provides research money 
for. Of those, Down syndrome ranks 93rd.

Colorado researchers say financial support from local foundations keeps them 
going.

Whitten runs one of those important local non-profit groups. It is the Anna 
and John J. Sie Foundation. Last year, it gave $1 million for Down syndrome 
research; including Costa's research.

"I think Alberto's work is a first big step towards some significant 
breakthrough," said Costa.

Costa says the next step is testing to see if the drug has the same effect 
on humans as it did on the mice. He hopes to start a clinical trail in 
Denver. There is no specific timeline set for that trial to start but he 
hopes to get approval sometime in the next two months.

*****
just another kind of trisomy...
jude, mom to derek-21, kelsey-19
and kameron-10-full t18 (hanging out so i will never be an empty nester)
golden, colorado usa
http://www.judewolpert.com
http://home.comcast.net/~jfwolpert2
http://flickr.com/photos/judewolpert/

                  Building ___ooOOoo__ Rainbows
                       www.trisomyonline.org
                  Families Helping Families On-line

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