Blessing, Esther Marian PHD

Down syndrome (DS), the most frequent cause of intellectual disability and the most frequent form of Alzheimer´s disease (AD) of genetic origin, involves an ultra-high risk for developing AD (>95% in the seventh decade). While the age of AD onset in people with DS is on average ~20–30 years younger than in sporadic AD, there is considerable heterogeneity, with some individuals developing AD later in life. This project focuses on sleep disturbance and impaired circadian thermoregulation as potentially modifiable risk factors for AD, which may lead to interventions to delay AD onset in people with DS.