April 23 @ 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Seminar held in person only.
Dr. Elizabeth Head
Dean’s Professor and Vice Chair for Research – Department of Pathology
University of California Irvine
“Learning about Alzheimer disease from people with Down syndrome”
People with Down syndrome (DS) have a 90% lifetime risk of developing dementia and typically present with sufficient neuropathology for an Alzheimer’s disease (AD) diagnosis by age 40. In DS, AD is primarily driven by the overexpression of the amyloid precursor protein gene on chromosome 21. With over 220,000 people in the United States diagnosed with DS, this population represents the largest group with a single genetic cause of AD. This talk will review key features of aging in DS, including age-associated AD pathogenesis, neuroinflammation, cerebrovascular pathology, and emerging studies on resistance and resilience. The interaction between neurodevelopmental processes and aging will also be highlighted and discussed. While AD in DS shares many characteristics with sporadic AD, notable differences exist, suggesting that dedicated clinical trials for people with DS would be of significant benefit.