Patients with Down Syndrome may Offer new insite to Ageing

Marybeth Solinski, has down syndrome, and just celebrated her 59th birthday

Typically, people with down syndrome do not live to the normal life expectancy. They often age faster, and this has opened a window for scientists on how we age in general, because it can be inferred that chromosome 21 plays a significant role, since people with down syndrome have three copies of chromosome 21. There is also an extremely high rate of Alzheimers in people with down syndrome, but also an increased ability for the brain to repair and compensate for the brain plaques and tangles indicative of the disease. This ability reveals another gene possibly located on chromosome 21 that scientists may be able to utilize in treatment of other brain disorders in the future.