Adult Down Syndrome Research Articles

Effects of increased ICP on auditory and cardiovascular responses

Background: Auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) have been previously investigated in subjects with Down's syndrome (DS), but the published data are generally from children with hearing loss. The aim of this study was to evaluate the hearing pathway in normal hearing adult DS patients. Methods: We used ABRs to analyze absolute and interpeak latencies in 19 adult DS patients aged 18–45 years whose pure tone audiometry (PTA) test results indicated thresholds within normal limits, and 19 normal controls. Results: The DS sample showed statistically significant gender-related differences in interpeak interval III–V (p = 0.015). The latencies of waves III and V, and interpeak intervals III–V and I–V, were significantly shortened in the DS patients than in the controls. Conclusions: Our findings may be due to the smaller brain sizes and simpler afferent auditory pathways of DS subjects.

Selenium in Plasma and Erythrocytes in Patients with Down's Syndrome and Healthy Controls.

The mean plasma selenium concentration (P-Se) in 65 patients with Down's syndrome (DS) did not differ from that in 90 healthy controls. The concentration of selenium in the erythrocytes (E-Se) was higher in DS patients than in controls (p less than 0.001). P-Se and E-Se increased progressively with age through childhood in both DS children and controls. The former children, however, started out with higher levels of E-Se and reached adult concentrations earlier (at 7-17 years) than controls (greater than or equal to 18 years). Adult DS patients and controls did not differ in their mean P-Se or E-Se concentration. There was a significant correlation between P-Se and E-Se both in DS patients and in controls. In DS patients each of these two variables was significantly correlated to glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity in erythrocytes. A sex difference in the DS children, but not in the controls, was observed with regard to P-Se and E-Se levels, these being higher in DS girls during childhood (0-17 years). This was in accordance with an earlier finding of higher GSH-Px activity in DS girls than in DS boys.

Down syndrome and thyroid function in adults

Thyroid function has been studied in 11 middle-aged and elderly subjects with proven Down syndrome. Unequivaocal biochemical evidence of hypothyroidism was found in 6, and of thyrotoxicosis in 1. It is concluded that, in contrast to the situation in children with Down syndrome, thyroid dysfunction is exceedingly common in adults with the syndrome.