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Therapeutic approaches in the improvement of cognitive performance in Down syndrome: past, present, and future
de la Torre R, Dierssen M.. Progress in brain research, 2012-01-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Clinical trials with drugs aimed at treatment of Alzheimer disease to decelerate cognitive decline and translated mimetically to demented and young nondemented Down syndrome patients have been unable to demonstrate improvements in cognitive performance and functioning. Unfortunately, results from clinical trials do not support the use of NMDA antagonists like memantine and we should await at the development of safer GABA(A) antagonists to conclude about the efficacy of approaching Down syndrome therapeutics by modulating neurotransmission systems altered in this pathology. The use of folinic acid or antioxidants in DS patients is not supported by scientific evidence and do not provide improvement in cognitive performance to patients. Alternatively to the modulation of neurotransmission systems, future therapeutic approaches should focus at normalizing the expression levels or function of candidate molecules. Epigallocatechin gallate, a green tea polyphenol, that modulates DYRK1A functioning has already shown preliminarily that this approach may prove useful in therapeutics.
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APA 7th
de la Torre, R., & Dierssen, M. (2012). Therapeutic approaches in the improvement of cognitive performance in Down syndrome: past, present, and future. Progress in brain research. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-444-54299-1.00001-7
Vancouver
de la Torre R, Dierssen M. Therapeutic approaches in the improvement of cognitive performance in Down syndrome: past, present, and future. Progress in brain research. 2012. doi:10.1016/b978-0-444-54299-1.00001-7. PMID: 22541285.
BibTeX
@article{delatorre2012-22541285,
author = {de la Torre, R. and Dierssen, M.},
title = {{Therapeutic approaches in the improvement of cognitive performance in Down syndrome: past, present, and future}},
journal = {Progress in brain research},
year = {2012},
doi = {10.1016/b978-0-444-54299-1.00001-7},
pmid = {22541285},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-444-54299-1.00001-7}
}
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Key findings
- Unfortunately, results from clinical trials do not support the use of NMDA antagonists like memantine and we should await at the development of safer GABA(A) antagonists to conclude about the efficacy of approaching Down syndrome therapeutics by modulating neurotransmission systems altered in this pathology.
Why it matters
This review states that clinical trials of drugs for Alzheimer disease in Down syndrome patients have not shown cognitive improvement, and that folinic acid or antioxidants are not supported by evidence. It notes one green tea compound has shown preliminary promise, but this is not established treatment.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 39/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, so that was left out: it earned 37 of the 96 points we could judge it on, which is 39 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Progress in brain research) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2012 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 4 / 7 | Cited 53 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 3.3 citations a year over 16 year(s) since 2012 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 12.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 1 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 6 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Mara Dierssen: h-index 61 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | Hospital del Mar Research Institute: institution h-index 411 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 22541285) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 37 / 96 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 37 of the 96 points we could judge it on is 39 out of 100. |
| Total | 39 / 100 | — |
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