Drug may help learning of those with Down's
| Published: 6th March 2007 21:23 |
Drug may help learning of those with Down's Syndrome
Researchers have found that an old drug called pentylenetetrazole (PZT) could be beneficial in treating Down's Syndrome.
The drug was originally developed as a treatment for epilepsy but has now been found to help the memory and learning abilities of Down's Syndrome sufferers.
Scientists believe that people with the condition could be experiencing problems in the part of the brain called the dentate gyrus, where new memories are made.
People with Down's Syndrome could be undergoing excessive responsiveness to a chemical called GABA, which slows the brain's nerve reactions.
When tested on mice, the epilepsy drug dulled the brain's responses to the chemical and improved the creature's memory capabilities.
After being given the drug for two weeks, the effects on the mice remained for around two months, suggesting to the team from Stanford University that it might be changing the brain's structure.
Professor Craig Garner, who led the research, said: "Our findings clearly open a new avenue for considering how cognitive dysfunction in individuals with Down syndrome might be treated."
However, scientists explain that further tests on humans will have to be carried out to assess the suitability of the treatment for mainstream use.
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