Down's syndrome: intellectual and behavioural functioning during adulthood

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Previous cross–sectional studies of Down's syndrome have suggested thatdeficits in cognitive and neurological functioning after the age of 35 years are symptomatic of Alzheimer's disease. It has been claimed that this pattern corresponds to post‐mortem neuropathological findings of Alzheimer's disease in all Down's syndrome patients who die aged over 35 years. In the present study of Down's syndrome patients aged between 19 and 49 years, results showed that, for those over 35 years, intellectual deterioration had occurred in less than a third. No relationship was found between chronological age and the level of self care skills or the presence of disturbed behaviour. Results are discussed in terms of the interpretation of the existing neuropathological literature, the methodology of future studies and clinicaldecisions regarding hospitalized patients with Down's syndrome.

Atypical aging in down syndrome

“…Functional declines were first noted in skills that were more complex and then progressed to more basic and fundamental abilities. These patterns generally mirror the clinical progression of AD for adults in the typically developing population [Perneczky et al, ], and additional studies in adults with DS using other samples and different procedures [Fenner et al, ; Zigman et al, ; Prasher and Chung, ].…”

50 years with Down syndrome: A longitudinal study

“…First, for the people themselves, the test sessions were seen as enjoyable, described as “all those games” by one man, others being said to look forward to the researcher's visit, while family members valued the long‐term contact with the first author and the practical help and support it was occasionally possible to give. Second, in the context of the wide range of other research into the condition currently in existence, it may have set a precedent, being thought to be the longest known study of its kind; against that may be set its very small size, becoming smaller as time went on, precluding the use of many valuable statistical procedures to explore the data available (although there are studies reporting on considerably smaller numbers, Haxby, ; Fenner et al., ). Third, when the author(s) of cross‐sectional research have expressed misgivings about the validity of their findings, because of the unknown effect of other putative factors, such as the effects of changes in educational practices in different cohorts (Crayton et al., ; Haxby, ), it has been possible to show that these are supported by the findings of the present longitudinal research.…”

Six Weeks to 45 Years: A Longitudinal Study of a Population with Down Syndrome

“…Studies of the indications of AD have been initiated when their participants were aged 30-60, have involved relatively large numbers (39-150) and have been carried on for 2-6 years (Fenner et al 1987;Devenny et al 1996Devenny et al , 2000Roeden & Zitman 1997;Burt et al 2005). Two, by Hawkins et al (2003) and by Esbensen et al (2007), were each continued for 10 years.…”