http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Researchers at the Linda Crnic Institute for Down Syndrome and the University of Colorado School of Medicine have found that a single mechanism may underlie the damaging effect of cholesterol on the brain and on blood vessels. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-cholesterol-alzheimer-heart-disease.html Medical research Mon, 15 Apr 2013 18:35:59 EST news285269752 Sanford-Burnham researchers discover that the extra chromosome inherited in Down syndrome impairs learning and memory because it leads to low levels of SNX27 protein in the brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-unravel-molecular-roots-syndrome.html Medical research Sun, 24 Mar 2013 14:00:06 EST news283335198 It is well known that people with Down syndrome (DS) suffer from marked muscle weakness. Even the simple tasks of independent living, such as getting out of a chair or climbing a flight of stairs, can become major obstacles. This can reduce the quality of life for those with DS and lead to a loss of independence. Now, a new study sheds light on some of the suspected causes of muscle weakness. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-insights-role-muscle-weakness-syndrome.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 17 Dec 2012 13:40:05 EST news274972312 Mice with a condition that serves as a laboratory model for Down syndrome perform better on memory and learning tasks as adults if they were treated before birth with neuroprotective peptides, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-prenatal-intervention-deficit-mice.html Medical research Fri, 30 Nov 2012 09:09:51 EST news273488980 (Medical Xpress)—University of Washington scientists have succeeded in removing the extra copy of chromosome 21 in cell cultures derived from a person with Down syndrome, a condition in which the body's cells contain three copies of chromosome 21 rather than the usual pair. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-extra-chromosome-syndrome-cell-line.html Medical research Fri, 09 Nov 2012 07:01:12 EST news271666821 A new prenatal test for Down's syndrome hit the market in Germany and several other European countries Monday, the manufacturer said, amid a controversy over whether it could lead to more abortions. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-syndrome-european.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 20 Aug 2012 15:21:17 EST news264694865 Intellectual disability due to Fragile X and Down syndromes involves similar molecular pathways report researchers in The EMBO Journal. The two disorders share disturbances in the molecular events that regulate the way nerve cells develop dendritic spines, the small extensions found on the surface of nerve cells that are crucial for communication in the brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-fragile-syndromes-pathway-intellectual-disability.html Genetics Fri, 03 Aug 2012 12:38:22 EST news263216268 Scientists have successfully sequenced the genome of a baby in the womb without tapping its protective fluid sac. This non-invasive approach to obtaining the fetal genome is reported in the June 6 issue of Science Translational Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-baby-genome-deciphered-prenatally-parents.html Genetics Wed, 06 Jun 2012 14:00:02 EST news258208291 Down syndrome (DS) is the most common genetic disorder in live born children arising as a consequence of a chromosomal abnormality. It occurs as a result of having three copies of chromosome 21, instead of the usual two. It causes substantial physical and behavioral abnormalities, including life-long cognitive dysfunction that can range from mild to severe but which further deteriorates as individuals with DS age. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-cognitive-dysfunction-syndrome-alzheimer-disease.html Psychology & Psychiatry Thu, 01 Mar 2012 10:11:23 EST news249819061 Children with Down syndrome (DS) have an increased risk of developing leukemia, in particular acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (AMKL) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Through their studies in a mouse model of DS, a team of researchers led by John Crispino, at Northwestern University, Chicago, has now identified a potential explanation as to why children with DS are at increased risk of AMKL. In doing so, they have also identified a candidate therapeutic target. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-02-unraveling-children-syndrome-leukemia.html Genetics Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:55:39 EST news249137728 A novel study involving fruit flies and mice has allowed biologists to identify two critical genes responsible for congenital heart defects in individuals with Down syndrome, a major cause of infant mortality and death in people born with this genetic disorder. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-biologists-flies-mice-syndrome.html Genetics Fri, 04 Nov 2011 09:02:45 EST news239616145 Investigators have identified a human chromosome containing a specific gene associated with susceptibility to herpes simplex labialis (HSL), the common cold sore. Published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases and now available online, the study looks at how several genes may affect the severity of symptoms and frequency of this common infection. The findings, if confirmed, could have implications for the development of new drugs to treat outbreaks. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-specific-gene-linked-cold-sore.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 28 Oct 2011 04:28:41 EST news238994797 Researchers at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona analysed the effects of Bisphenol A (BPA), a polymer widely used to manufacture plastics, in an in vitro culture of ovaries. The research demonstrated that exposure to this substance gravely altered the development of oocytes and future ova, possibly diminishing the fertility of a woman's offspring and at the same time increasing the risk of Down Syndrome in following generations. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-bpa-vitro-ova-syndrome.html Health Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:24:32 EST news235823007 Researchers are developing a new way to test a woman's egg for chromosome abnormalities that avoids the need to manipulate and biopsy the egg itself. The research may also shed light on the crucial role played by certain genes in the development of chromosome abnormalities that are a major cause of miscarriages and conditions such as Down's syndrome. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-chromosome-abnormalities-genetic-faulty-eggs.html Medical research Tue, 05 Jul 2011 19:02:21 EST news229111312 Ovarian stimulation undertaken by women of advanced maternal age receiving fertility treatment may be disrupting the normal pattern of meiosis -- a critical process of chromosome duplication followed by two specialized cell divisions in the production of oocytes and sperm - and leading to abnormalities of chromosome copy numbers that result in IVF failure, pregnancy loss or, more rarely, the birth of affected children with conditions such as Down's syndrome, which is caused by the inheritance of three copies of chromosome 21. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-ovarian-chromosome-abnormalities.html Other Tue, 05 Jul 2011 10:29:05 EST news229080528 In one of the first studies of its kind, UCLA researchers used a unique brain scan to assess the levels of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles -- the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease -- in adults with Down syndrome. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-brain-scan-patterns-plaques-tangles.html Neuroscience Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:00:12 EST news227199214 A protein associated with Alzheimer's disease clogs several motors of the cell transport machinery critical for normal cell division, leading to defective neurons that may contribute to the memory-robbing disease, University of South Florida researchers report. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-alzheimer-related-protein-disrupts-motors-cell.html Medical research Mon, 02 May 2011 11:09:44 EST news223553343