CLINICAL EVALUATION OF DEMENTIA IN DOWN'S SYNDROME: A PRELIMINARY REPORT

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Abstract
Down''s syndrome [DS] residents were found to have significantly greater impairment on measures of orientation, attention span, digit span recall, visual memory, object identification and praxis, and were more likely to have pathological released reflexes than were age- and IQ-matched controls. Neuropyschiatric status tended to worsen with advancing age in Down''s syndrome, but not in controls. Of DS individuals with (45%) age .gtoreq. 45 yr, 45% had a full syndrome of dementia, compared to only 5% of controls. Although further research is necessary, particularly that employing larger samples and more detailed medical screening, these results support the association of dementia Alzheimer type with Down''s syndrome.