An Alzheimer's drug may improve memory in Down syndrome and normal aging

sargramostim (GM-CSF, or granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor) is the first drug to show memory improvement in Alzheimer's patients in a phase II clinical trial

A multidisciplinary team at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine investigated the safety and tolerability of GM-CSF treatment and its effects on behavior and brain pathology in a mouse model of Down syndrome and in typical aging mice

"Patients with Down syndrome are at higher risk for Alzheimer's, and previous work has shown that GM-CSF improves cognition and brain pathology in Alzheimer's patients

He added: "Discovering a treatment that can help children and young adults with Down syndrome develop their physical and mental abilities are critical to improving their health and activities of daily living

A research team led by Md.

The next step is to determine whether this treatment is safe, tolerable and effective for people with Down syndrome

A research team from the UC Anschutz School of Medicine recently received a grant from the National Institutes of Health/American Institute on Aging to study samustine in young adults with Down syndrome who do not have Alzheimer's evidence of schizophrenia

"We've made a breakthrough in studying sargramostim as a treatment for a number of different diseases -- Down syndrome and Alzheimer's," Porter said

The new NIH-funded project, co-directed by Potter and Peter Pressman, MD, of Columbia University's Department of Neurology, will leverage a collaboration between research teams at Columbia University's Anschutz School of Medicine and Colorado State University

Journal Reference :

1. Md.