Scientists are testing a new hormone treatment that could potentially improve cognition among people with Down syndrome, but more research is needed to make sure that the process is safe and effective.
Down syndrome is the world's most common chromosomal diagnosis that affects roughly one in every 700 babies born in just the United States. The condition is caused by having three copies of chromosome 21, rather than two, which results in a range of impairments, most notably serious cognitive problems.
Improve Cognition for Down Syndrome
However, in new research published in the journal Science this week, there may be ways to improve or even reverse some of those symptoms using new hormone treatment. The new process could even prove to be effective against Alzheimer's, although it remains far too early to draw any definitive conclusions.
Scientists are specifically investigating whether the regulation of the release of the hormone known as GnRH, which releases a chemical gonadotropin, could hold promise. GnRH neurons are responsible for controlling vital bodily functions including blood pressure and hunger deep inside the brain, as per Futurism.
In previous research, scientists have discovered that molecules called microRNAs to regulate the release of GnRH. In a new experiment involving mice with three copies of chromosome 21, a team which was led by the neuroscientist Vincent Prevot of the University of Lille in France found that increasing the levels of GnRH was beneficial.
This included the use of microRNAs to reverse the effects of Down syndrome on the animals' olfactory senses and other cognitive deficits. However, an animal study does not prove anything or show that the treatment will be effective in humans.
According to Science Alert, a co-author of the study, Nelly Pitteloud of Switzerland's Lausanne University Hospital, said that while the experiment was satisfactory, the team remains cautious. The researchers wondered if GnRH could play a role in establishing the symptoms of people with Down syndrome.
New Hormone Treatment
Within the experiment, the team first established that five strands of microRNA regulating the production of GnRH were dysfunctional in mice specifically engineered for Down syndrome research. They then demonstrated cognitive deficiencies, as well as loss of smell.
Researchers gave the mice a GnRH medication used to treat low testosterone and delayed puberty in humans, finding that it restored some cognitive function and sense of smell. A pilot study was conducted in Switzerland involving seven men with Down syndrome aged 20 to 50.
The patients all received the treatment through their arms every two hours over a period of six months. The drug was delivered in pulses to mimic the hormone's frequency in people without Down syndrome.
The researchers then carried out cognition and smell tests during the treatment as well as conducted MRI scans. Six of the seven men showed improvement in cognition with no significant side effects. However, none of them showed a change in their sense of smell.
The study comes as discussions of treatment can elicit mixed feelings in the Down syndrome community, especially when it is framed as a disease that needs to be "cured," says Cathleen Small. She is a director of family services and medical outreach for the non-profit Down Syndrome Connection and the mother of a child with the condition, Science reported.
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