BETTHAUSER, TOBEY JAMES

PROJECT NARRATIVE Alzheimer’s disease has emerged as the leading cause of death for adults with Down syndrome over the age of 35, yet the timeline of disease progression remains understudied. This study aims to implement a novel statistical technique developed by the MPIs into Down syndrome biomarker data that estimates the age at onset of abnormal biomarker presence to inform the timeline of disease progression, denoted as the “Biomarker Clock.” Application of the Biomarker Clock to biomarker measures from positron emission tomography and plasma analytes will provide new insights on the staging of Alzheimer’s disease in Down syndrome and will help better inform when potential disease-modifying therapeutics should be applied.