Inflammatory biomarkers to predict transition to dementia in Down Syndrome

Down Syndrome (DS) individuals develop AD neuropathology by 40 years of age yet clinical dementia is not observed until after 50+years old. We have been studying neuroinflammation in the AD brain and have identified biomarkers in the serum that predict the neuroinflammatory state of the brain. Since DS is associated with the triplication of many inflammatory genes, we hypothesize that a neuroinflammatory switch may be involved in the transition from the DS patient being cognitively normal to clinical dementia. We will apply our serum biomarkers from AD to an existing cohort of aging DS patients that have been followed longitudinally and some of whom have transitioned to dementia. Our studies will greatly impact the field of DS and dementia. If we are able to identify a biomarker profile that predicts when a person with DS is going to transition to dementia then we can utilize this information to screen DS individuals and plan clinical trials. In addition, if we identify inflammation as the key predictor for transition to dementia then there is significant rationale to target inflammation as a preventative therapy in DS.