New Drugs Improve Learning In Children With Down Syndrome

Drug makers such as Roche and Balance Therapeutics are working on new drugs that will improve the learning abilities of children with Down syndrome. It is estimated that 6,000 children are born with Down syndrome every year. The aim of these new drugs is to make it easier for these children to function through improved cognitive skills.

Researchers acknowledge that these new drugs aren’t a cure. But there is optimism within the field for the possibility that the drugs will help children who previously had no medical options. “Ten years ago if you told anyone there were going to be trials of drugs to improve cognitive symptoms of Down syndrome they would have laughed you out of town,” said Roger Reeves, a geneticist at John Hopkins University. “The advances in the past five years are truly amazing.”

Even a relatively small increase in IQ could have dramatic effects for patients with Down syndrome. Researchers believe that a 10-15 point increase in IQ could mean that children with Down syndrome could grow up to live on their own instead of requiring constant care. Researchers at Roche and Balance Therapeutics are studying the effects of the GABA chemical on the extra chromosome present in Down syndrome patients.

Michael Harpold, Chief Scientific Officer at the Down Syndrome Research and Treatment Foundation, says that the improvements are coming quickly. “The progress has been truly remarkable over the past few years,” said Harpold. “The field has moved more rapidly than virtually anything I ever have been involved with.”