The Vanderbilt Center for Cognitive Medicine will be launching the first study aimed at preventing Alzheimer’s disease in individuals with Down Syndrome, the ABATE Study. This clinical trial is testing whether a vaccine may reduce the levels of an abnormal protein called amyloid that accumulates in the brain of people who develop Alzheimer’s disease including people with Down Syndrome.
Virtually all people affected with Down Syndrome show Aβ-related neuropathological changes by age 40. In subjects with DS, Aβ deposits are visible in the cerebral cortex as early as their 30s. There is currently no cure for Aβ-related cognitive decline in DS. Current therapeutic options are considered to be mostly symptomatic and do not modify the course of the disease. There is, therefore, an unmet medical need for more effective treatments for individuals with DS experiencing Aβ-related cognitive decline.
Participants may be able to join this study if they have Down syndrome, are between 35 and 50 years old and have a study partner willing to attend all study visits.
For more information, contact the Vanderbilt Center for Cognitive Medicine at 615-936-4997.
