A Prospective Study of Alzheimer Disease in Down Syndrome
- 1 August 1989
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Medical Association (AMA) in Archives of Neurology
- Vol. 46 (8), 849-853
- https://doi.org/10.1001/archneur.1989.00520440031017
Abstract
Ninety-six individuals with Down syndrome over age 35 years were evaluated and followed up for evidence of nontreatable dementia. Dementia was judged to be present when a functional decline occurred in areas such as orientation, memory, verbal and motor skills, and self-care abilities. Forty-nine patients with Down syndrome fit this criterion, with an average onset of dementia at 54.2 +/- 6.1 years. The prevalence of dementia in the institutionalized Down syndrome population of our study (n = 53) was 8% (2/25 patients) between 35 and 49 years, 55% (11/20 patients) between 50 and 59 years, and 75% (6/8 patients) of those over 60 years old. Of note, 41 (84%) demented individuals with Down syndrome developed seizures. Ten (20%) had parkinsonian features. Adequately treated hypothyroidism was present in 27 (59%) of 46 demented patients with Down syndrome tested. The average duration of dementia in the 23 patients who died was 4.6 +/- 3.2 years. Computed tomographic scans in 43 patients all showed brain tissue loss, most pronounced in the temporal lobes. Brains from 12 autopsied cases showed large numbers of plaques and tangles in the same locations as in persons with Alzheimer disease.Keywords
This publication has 10 references indexed in Scilit:
- DEMENTIA IN AGEING MENTAL DEFECTIVES: A CLINICAL PSYCHIATRIC STUDYJournal of Intellectual Disability Research, 2008
- Amyloid plaque core protein in Alzheimer disease and Down syndrome.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 1985
- Heterogeneity in dementia of the Alzheimer typeNeurology, 1985
- Senile dementia of the Alzheimer typeAnnals of Neurology, 1983
- Neurofibrillary tangles, granulovacuolar degeneration, and neuron loss in down syndrome: Quantitative comparison with alzheimer dementiaAnnals of Neurology, 1980
- Prevalence of thyroid disorder in Down syndromeClinical Genetics, 1978
- THE PREVALENCE OF EPILEPSY AMONG MONGOLS RELATED TO AGEJournal of Intellectual Disability Research, 1974
- The Extrapyramidal Disorder of Alzheimer’s DiseaseEuropean Neurology, 1974
- Human Chromosome Abnormalities as Related to Physical and Mental DysfunctionJournal of Heredity, 1969
- EARLY SENILE DEMENTIA IN MONGOLOID IDIOCYAmerican Journal of Psychiatry, 1948