A Cure For Down Syndrome Could Be Just Around The Corner

http://www.wctv.tv/healthmatters/headlines/71830877.html

November 23, 2009

A study in mice shows there may be a way to reverse Down syndrome.

Scientists with a Stanford University study says the method involves increasing levels of a specific message carrying chemical in the brain.

They say that chemical prevents some memory defects in mice with the rodent version of Down syndrome.

Those deficits can hinder learning and make it hard for the brain to develop.
Scientists increased the levels by injecting drugs known to affect the neurotransmitter, called norepinephrine.

Nerve cells use it to communicate with one another.

The National Down Syndrome Society says the genetic condition affects 5,000 newborns in the U.S. every year.

The study appears in the journal "Science Translation Medicine."