GnRH Injection Therapy Helps Improve Cognitive Function Among People With Down Syndrome, New Study Finds
According to the CDC, about six thousand babies born in the United States every single year are diagnosed with Down syndrome– making this the most prevalent chromosomal condition in the country.
And even though every person with Down syndrome has their own unique abilities, the CDC also reported that people with the condition tend to “have an IQ in the mildly-to-moderately low range and are slower to speak than other children.”
However, a recent study conducted by the Lille Neuroscience & Cognition Laboratory in collaboration with Lausanne University Hospital has tested the efficacy of a new injection therapy aimed at improving cognitive function among people with Down syndrome.
The injection consisted of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone, known as GnRH, which is known for regulating reproduction by targeting the hypothalamus.
However, the researchers recognized that GnRH had the potential to impact other brain regions and subsequently alter other functions, including cognition.
So, the team tested their hypothesis using mouse models and were able to conclude that progressive olfactory and cognitive deficiencies are, in fact, closely tied to the dysfunctional secretion of GnRH.
Then, the researchers moved on to their next stage of study– testing the effects of GnRH injections on a small patient group in a pilot clinical trial.
The group consisted of seven men between the ages of twenty and fifty with Down syndrome whom all underwent MRI exams before treatment.
Then, each of the men was given an arm pump that administered one subcutaneous dose of GnRH every two hours for seven months. Finally, after seven months, the men underwent a second MRI exam.
Ermolaev Alexandr – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purpose only, not the actual person
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And amazingly, the researchers found that cognitive performance did increase in six out of the seven patients, resulting in a stronger understanding of instructions, episodic memory, attention, and improved reasoning.
These results were also confirmed via brain imaging performed by the CHUV Department of Clinical Neurosciences.
In turn, the researchers now believe that GnRH is critical in strengthening communication between various cortex regions.
“Maintaining the GnRH system appears to play a key role in brain maturation and cognitive functions. In Down syndrome, pulsatile GnRH therapy is looking promising, especially as it is an existing treatment with no significant side effects,” explained Vincent Prévot, the study’s lead researcher.
Now, the team hopes to launch a much larger study that includes women to confirm the efficacy of the treatment for people with Down syndrome, as well as other neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease.
To read the study’s complete findings, which have since been published in Neurodevelopment, you can visit the link here.
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