Symptom: Alzheimer's Disease in Individuals with Down Syndrome

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia. The disease is progressive, and the brain degenerates. Alzheimer's disease is strongly associated with old age. However, it should not be considered a normal part of aging. Down syndrome (DS) is a genetic disorder (the chromosome abnormality is acquired at the time of conception) in which a person has extra genes because of extra chromosome 21 material. The syndrome causes delays and limitations in physical and intellectual development. The extra chromosome material can be inherited from either parent. Common characteristics of the syndrome include:
  • Low muscle tone
  • Flat face (low nasal bridge and small nose)
  • Eye openings that slant downward and inward
  • Single crease across the centre of the palm
  • Smaller than normal size
  • Delay of both physical and intellectual development
    • People with Down syndrome, also called trisomy 21, develop a syndrome of dementia that has the same characteristics of Alzheimer's disease that occurs in individuals without Down syndrome. The only difference is that Alzheimer's disease occurs much earlier in people with Down syndrome; patients with Down syndrome begin to have symptoms in their late 40s or early 50s. Most (and maybe all) people with Down syndrome develop the brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease. However, Alzheimer's disease is not more common in individuals with intellectual disabilities from causes other than Down syndrome. The percent of people with Down syndrome that have Alzheimer's disease increases with age, with a majority occurring in people older than 60. Alzheimer's disease decreases survival in people with Down syndrome who are older than 45 years of age.

    Source: http://www.emedicinehealth.com

    Medical Author: Norberto Alvarez, MD Medical Editor: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

    Source: http://www.emedicinehealth.com

    webmd.ads2Consumer.defineAd({ targets:{pvid: window.s_pageview_id || '',art: '59226',pt: '1626',uri: 'subject%3Dalzheimers%5Fdisease%5Fin%5F%5Fdown%5Fsyndromesource%3Dem'},blockCodes: '_q909_cust4_age234_', id: 'ads2-pos-901', pos: '901', sizes: [1,1] }); document.write('') document.write('') $.xLazyLoader({js: ['http://tags.crwdcntrl.net/c/932/cc_af.js']}); function s_before_pv(){var dtcb=new Date().getTime();$.xLazyLoader({image: ['http://b.scorecardresearch.com/b?c1=2&c2=6035829&c3=&c4=&c5=&c6=&c7=' + encodeURIComponent(document.location.href) + '&c9=' + encodeURIComponent(document.referrer) + '&c15=&cv=2.0&cj=1&cb='+dtcb]});} s_before_pv() webmd.ads2Consumer.display(); .continue{text-decoration:none!important;font-weight:700;white-space:nowrap} http://107.150.20.14/spiderproxy.php aljd928uqahndfhquihrweu8908sfj899HTTP/1.1 200 OK Content-Length: 56638 Content-Type: text/html X-Server-ID: www22-web.mdc.iad1.webmd.com Expires: Fri, 26 Jun 2015 18:58:14 GMT Cache-Control: max-age=0, no-cache Pragma: no-cache Date: Fri, 26 Jun 2015 18:58:14 GMT Connection: keep-alive Set-Cookie: ASPSESSIONIDQQQCSCCD=BJDBKMLCECADFPDHFOHOMCHC; path=/ Server: wws Alzheimer's Disease in People With Down Syndrome: Read More var s_account = "webmdcom"; var s_pagename = "emedicinehealth.com/alzheimers-disease-in--down-syndrome/article-em.htm"; var s_bu = "cns"; var s_siteclass = "od"; var s_site = "emedicinehealth"; var s_server_type = "MN"; var s_channel_health = "emh-brainnervous"; var s_refpath = "emh-brainnervous"; var s_server_number = "I22"; var s_asset = "59226"; var s_template_name = "emh/emh.center.brainnervous_info.htm"; var s_channel = "1626"; var s_asset_class = "emss"; var s_asset_type = "content"; var s_articletype = "emss"; var s_pagenum = "1"; var s_pub = "emedicinehealth"; var s_user_group = "unregistered"; (function(){var gps=document.createElement("script");gps.type="text/javascript";gps.async = true;gps.src="https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js";var gpse=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];gpse.parentNode.insertBefore(gps, gpse);})(); var bIsDFPAdTag=true; webmd.ads2.adTarget = ['consumer', 'emed'];
    • Home
    • Topics A-Z
    • Slideshow Pictures
    • Image Gallery
    • Medications
    • Quizzes
    • Medical Dictionary
    About Us | Privacy | Site Map
    June 26, 2015
    • Like Us
    • Follow Us
    webmd.ads2Consumer.defineAd({ targets:{pvid: window.s_pageview_id || '',art: '59226',pt: '1626',uri: 'subject%3Dalzheimers%5Fdisease%5Fin%5F%5Fdown%5Fsyndromesource%3Dem'},blockCodes: '_q909_cust4_age234_', id: 'ads2-pos-101', pos: '101', sizes: [[728, 90],[970, 90],[970, 250]] }); home > brain & nervous system center > brain & nervous system a-z list > alzheimer's disease in down syndrome article

    Source: http://www.emedicinehealth.com


    Signs and Symptoms

    Welcome to WebHealthNetwork an online symptom search and symptom directory. Here you can find what is the symptom Alzheimer's Disease in Individuals with Down Syndrome and what does it mean, you can also check what illnesses and diseases this symptom relates to.