Christian, Bradley T PHD

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a major public health crisis for our aging population. People with Down Syndrome (DS) are at high risk for AD and because of their unique biology and provide an unparalleled opportunity to develop biomarkers of preclinical AD. Reliable biomarkers of preclinical AD will enable new options for intervention and promote health for people with DS and in the general population.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a major public health crisis for our aging population. People with Down Syndrome (DS) are at high risk for AD and because of their unique biology and provide an unparalleled opportunity to develop biomarkers of preclinical AD. This proposed pilot project will focus on parents of adults with DS, allowing us to address important questions related to the potential impact of a range of genetic factors on both maternal AD risk and AD risk to their DS offspring.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a major public health crisis for our aging population. People with Down Syndrome (DS) are at high risk for AD and because of their unique biology and provide an unparalleled opportunity to develop biomarkers of preclinical AD. Reliable biomarkers of preclinical AD will enable new options for intervention and promote health for people with DS and in the general population.

– no change from original: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a major public health crisis for our aging population. People with Down Syndrome (DS) are at high risk for AD and because of their unique biology and provide an unparalleled opportunity to develop biomarkers of preclinical AD. Reliable biomarkers of preclinical AD will enable new options for intervention and promote health for people with DS and in the general population.

Adults with Down syndrome (DS) are at an extremely high risk for developing Alzheimer's disease (AD), with most individuals over age 40 evidencing neurofibrillary tangles and neuritic plaques (which are thought to be associated with the eventual appearance of AD symptoms). The goal of the current application is to recruit and follow 180 adults with DS and 40 biomarker controls to enable the identification of the longitudinal progression of AD in adults with DS using clinical, cognitive, imaging and genetic and biochemical biomarkers. This data is not only necessary to deepen our understanding of the pathophysiology of AD in DS, but may also offer information that will prove useful in the design of treatment trials to slow or prevent AD in DS.