International News

PARIS, June 7 (APP/AFP): A chemical in green tea has been shown
to improve cognitive ability in persons with Down’s syndrome, scientists and doctors said Tuesday.
In a year-long clinical trial, the treatment led to improved scores
on memory and behaviour tests, they reported in a study, published in the The Lancet Neurology.
The positive impact remained six months after the trial ended.
Brain scans revealed that the compound, called epigallocatechin
gallate, altered the way neurons in the brain connect with one another.
“This is the first time that a treatment has shown efficacy in the
cognitive improvement of persons with this syndrome,” said Mara Dierssen,
senior author of the study and a researcher at the Centre for Genomic
Regulation in Barcelona.
While significant, she added in a statement, the results should not
be interpreted as a “cure”.
“But it may be a tool to improve these individuals’ quality of life.”
Experts not involved in the study described it as “exciting” and “an
important piece of work.”
At the same time, they cautioned, the findings must be validated in
additional trials.
Down’s syndrome is the most common genetic form of intellectual disability, and afflicts approximately one in 1,000 people, according to the World Health Organization.
Also known as trisomy 21, the condition is caused by the presence of an extra, or third, copy of chromosome number 21.
Humans normally have 23 pairs of chromosomes, which together contain up to 25,000 protein-coding genes.
In Down’s syndrome, the extra copy causes some of the genes in
chromosome 21 to be “over-expressed”, leading to reduced cognitive abilities and other health problems.