UNT Health to bring national Alzheimer’s study for adults with Down syndrome to Texas
UNT Health Fort Worth’s Institute for Translational Research will be the first site in Texas to join a national study focused on Alzheimer’s disease in adults with Down syndrome, expanding access to no-cost brain health evaluations and research opportunities for North Texas families.
The Alzheimer’s Biomarker Consortium-Down Syndrome (ABC-DS) study is a national research initiative supported by the National Institutes of Health. The study examines how Alzheimer’s disease develops in adults with Down syndrome and works to identify early biological markers of the disease. UNT Health’s site will begin enrolling participants in June.
Adults who are at least 25 and have Down syndrome are eligible to participate.
“Since 2019, UNT Health has been leading important research examining how blood-based
markers can help predict Alzheimer’s disease among individuals with Down syndrome,”
said Melissa Petersen, Ph.D., associate professor and clinical core and omics scientific
lead at the Institute for Translational Research. “Joining ABC-DS as a clinical site
allows us to expand that work while ensuring families in our community have greater
access to research, evaluations and future treatment opportunities.”
Adults with Down syndrome face a significantly increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease because of trisomy 21, which leads to an overproduction of amyloid, a protein linked to the disease. According to research published in The Lancet, the lifetime incidence of Alzheimer’s disease among adults with Down syndrome is 90%, with a mean age of 53.8 years for dementia onset.
Researchers say the study is especially timely as treatment options for Alzheimer’s disease continue to expand and more clinical trials are being developed for adults with Down syndrome.
“It is critical that we increase awareness of the high prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease among adults with Down syndrome, as well as the options available to individuals and families,” Petersen said. “Participation in studies like ABC-DS can help advance new treatment discoveries and connect families with future research opportunities and resources.”
Study visits may include memory and thinking assessments, brain imaging and medical evaluations. UNT Health expects to enroll 10 participants during its startup phase, with plans to enroll approximately 45 participants total at the site. All services will be free for participants.
UNT Health’s Institute for Translational Research is a specialized research institute focused on advancing optimal brain health through precision medicine. Led by Sid O’Bryant, Ph.D., the institute conducts large-scale, life-changing research on diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and dementia, with a particular focus on health disparities.
The ABC-DS study is led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, University
of Wisconsin-Madison and University of California, Irvine. At UNT Health, Petersen
will serve as site principal investigator, with assistant professor Lubnaa Abdullah,
PsyD, ABPP, as co-investigator.
The ABC-DS study is funded by a National Institutes of Health grant to the University of Pittsburgh. UNT Health is a subrecipient through the University of Pittsburgh. Approximately $6.8 million has been awarded to UNT Health. O’Bryant serves as principal investigator of the overall ABC-DS award, while Petersen, serves as scientific lead for the clinical portion.
For more information about participating in the study, interested individuals and families may contact the Institute for Translational Research at itr@unthealth.edu.
The study described in this release is supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award No. U19AG068054. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Institutes of Health.