Journal of Alzheimers Disease & Parkinsonism
Open Access

Research Article

Down Syndrome - Onset Age of Dementia

¹Turku University Hospital, Oulu University, Paimio, Finland

²Tampere University Hospital, Pitkaniemi, Finland

*Corresponding Author:

Arvio Maria
Paijat-Hame Joint Municipal Authority
Lahti, Turku University Hospital
PEDEGO, Oulu University, Paimio
Finland
Tel: +358400835614
E-mail: Maria.Arvio@phhyky.fi

Received date: May 03, 2017; Accepted date: May 22, 2017; Published date: May 29, 2017

Citation: Arvio, Bjelogrlic-Laakso (2017) Down Syndrome - Onset Age of Dementia. J Alzheimers Dis Parkinsonism 7:329. doi:10.4172/2161-0460.1000329

Copyright: © 2017 Arvio, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Background: Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of death in people who have Down syndrome. This prospective, population-based, 15-year follow-up study aimed to define the onset age of dementia. Methods: At baseline 98 adults were screened for the first time by using the Present Psychiatric State-Learning Disabilities assessment. These screenings were repeated twice more during the study. Results: The indicative signs for dementia increased rapidly after the age of 35 and appeared most frequently as reduced self-care skills, loss of energy, impaired understanding and forgetfulness. Conclusion: Regular follow-up of people who have Down syndrome from the age of 30 onward enables appropriate interventions to delay the progression of dementia.

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