Down Syndrome Clinical Trials

The purpose of the Trial-Ready Cohort - Down Syndrome (TRC-DS) is to enroll 120 healthy adults with Down syndrome (DS), between the ages of 25-55, into a trial ready cohort (TRC), and up to 250 participants in total including co-enrolled in the Alzheimer Biomarkers Consortium - Down Syndrome (ABC-DS) study. Participants enrolled in the TRC-DS will undergo longitudinal cognitive and clinical assessment, genetic and biomarker testing, as well as imaging and biospecimen collection. Using these outcome measures, researchers will analyze the relationships between cognitive measures and biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (AD) to identify endpoints for AD clinical trials in DS that best reflect disease progression. To learn more about the study and participating sites, visit our study website at: https://www.trcds.org/. TRC-DS is collaborating with the Alzheimer's Disease Biomarker Consortium-Down Syndrome (ABC-DS) to allow study participants to be concurrently enrolled in both ABC-DS and TRC-DS, referred to as "co-enrollment". ABC-DS is a longitudinal, observational research study that is overseen at University of Pittsburgh Coordinating Center. ABC-DS participants who express interest in potentially joining a clinical trial in the future and who meet TRC-DS eligibility criteria, may choose to co-enroll in TRC-DS at an ABC-DS Site. Co-enrolled participants will adhere to the ABC-DS protocol and schedule of activities, but agree to share their data with the TRC-DS team and to receive invitations for future participation in clinical trials. Fore more information on ABC-DS please visit https://www.nia.nih.gov/research/abc-ds or http://abcds.pitt.edu/. Read Less

The purpose of this study is to assess whether oxygen supplementation during sleep improves working memory and other clinical and patient-reported outcomes among children who have Down Syndrome (DS) with moderate to severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). Read Less

The aim of this study is to better understand the effects of transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM) on neural oscillations of individuals diagnosed with Down syndrome. Read Less

The purpose of the study is to do a preliminary assessment of whether fluoxetine is effective, safe, and tolerable for the treatment of depression in adults with Down syndrome. Read Less

Progressive age-related cognitive deficits occurring in both AD and DS have been connected to the degeneration of several neuronal populations, but mechanisms are not fully elucidated. The most consistent neuronal losses throughout the progression of AD are seen in cholinergic neurons where these losses negatively affect cognition, particularly in attention, learning, and memory formation. Evidence of reduced cholinergic integrity in DS is largely limited to animal models and post-mortem human data. The investigators propose to use molecular, functional, and structural biomarkers to assess the cholinergic integrity in adults with DS. The investigators anticipate using the data gathered in this pilot study to inform future study designs to determine AD risk stratification in DS by identifying individuals who show an accelerated decline in cholinergic integrity that correlates with cognitive and neurobehavioral changes. Also, our cholinergic biomarkers may identify whether individuals with DS are likely to respond to pro-cholinergic interventions, including the novel cholinergic modulators that are being developed to enhance cholinergic-sensitive cognitive functioning. The investigators anticipate using the data gathered here to inform future treatment studies in TRC-DS and beyond where novel cholinergic treatments may offer opportunities for early intervention in DS and be complementary to disease-modifying approaches such as anti-amyloid treatments. Read Less

This study aims to develop and evaluate biomarkers using non-invasive optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography (OCTA) as well as ultra-widefield (UWF) fundus photography to assess the structure and function of the retinal and choroidal microvasculature and structure in persons with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's Disease (AD), Parkinson's Disease (PD), or other neurodegenerative disease, diseases as outlined. Read Less

The goal of the study is to learn more about tests that can assess lung health in children with Down syndrome. Read Less

People with Down syndrome (DS) display widespread immune dysregulation, including several immune skin conditions. This study hypothesizes that pharmacological inhibition of the increased interferon (IFN) signaling seen in DS is safe and could improve associated skin conditions. The study evaluates the safety and efficacy treatment with Tofacitinib, an FDA-approved drug known to block IFN signaling, in adolescents and adults with DS and an autoimmune and/or autoinflammatory skin condition. Investigators will also measure the impact of interferon inhibition on a variety of molecular markers, as well as the cognitive abilities and quality of life of participants. Read Less

Based on available literature and our own preliminary research, the researchers have concluded that persons with Down syndrome (DS) exhibit difficulties in utilizing the specific spatial abilities of mental rotation and perspective taking and performing complex spatial tasks such as wayfinding and environmental learning. A weakness in spatial abilities may have many direct applications to daily life, ranging from activities such as tying shoes to using hand tools and navigating the environment. Spatial abilities also serve as a cognitive foundation for many other complex skills such as solving mathematical problems and using spatial language for giving and receiving directions. Moreover, spatial abilities are used in a variety of specialty jobs such as grocery stocking, packaging, and assembling, which are among the most commonly reported jobs for adults with DS. Hence, a new focus on spatial ability and its modifiability in persons with DS is clearly warranted. The primary goal of the research proposed in this application is to evaluate the malleability of mental rotation and perspective taking in people with DS through providing intentional experience with numerous spatial activities. Two groups of participants will be tested over the course of the project: adolescents and young adults with DS and typically developing (TD) children. Following an initial evaluation of performance on the two abilities, participants will receive up to eight sessions of spatial activity experience utilizing puzzle construction, block building, and computer search tasks. Following the experience sessions, spatial abilities of participants will be re-evaluated. These data will be used to investigate two specific aims. First, the researchers investigate whether spatial abilities of persons with DS can be modified by experience with spatial activities. Second, the researchers investigate whether the degree of modification observed for persons with DS can reduce performance differences between them and TD children. The researchers also consider whether performance on the PPVT, Raven's matrices, and Chronological Age are associated with any benefits from spatial ability experience. Read Less

This study aims to compare the rate at which oxygen uptake adapts to submaximal, moderate intensity exercise (oxygen uptake kinetics) between adults with and without Down syndrome, to determine the contribution of oxygen uptake kinetics to exercise intolerance of adults with Down syndrome. Additionally, the study will investigate the role of oxygen delivery (by the cardiovascular circuit) and oxygen utilization (in the mitochondria) on the oxygen uptake kinetics of adults with Down syndrome to identify specific areas which adults with Down syndrome could benefit from targeting during exercise training. Overall, this study aims to contribute to the knowledge on the exercise capacity of adults with Down syndrome, in order to improve the way adults with Down syndrome participate in and benefit from exercise. Participants will perform a maximal exercise test on a treadmill, and walk on a treadmill at a submaximal, moderate intensity speed and incline, during which oxygen uptake at the lungs, cardiac output, and oxygen utilization in the muscle will be measured. Read Less

In this study, investigators will study the impact of a 1:1 caregiver coaching intervention using the JASPER (Joint Attention, Symbolic Play, Engagement, Regulation) behavioral therapy curriculum compared to a psychoeducational curriculum that will be provided to caregivers for self-directed learning. Investigators want to determine the impact of both interventions on the child's development and behavior, and caregiver implementation of strategies. Read Less

The researchers are investigating if the Self-Supporting Nasopharyngeal Airway (ssNPA) device can be used in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea in children with Hypotonic Upper Airway Obstruction (HUAO). Read Less