Background: The CAMDEX-DS is an instrument to diagnose Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Down syndrome consisting of an informant interview and a cognitive test battery (CAMCOG-DS). Measurement properties of the German CAMDEX-DS were investigated. Method: Fifty-five adults with Down syndrome (19-58 years) participated in this observational study.…

Adults with Down syndrome are at high risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD), with most individuals developing clinical dementia by their late 60s. This increased risk for AD has been attributed, at least in part, to triplication and overexpression of the gene for amyloid precursor protein (APP) on chromosome 21, leading to elevated levels of amyloid…

Executive function (EF) decline is a consistent early sign of Alzheimer's disease (AD) among adults with Down syndrome (DS), which means that baseline measures of EF for individuals with DS are vital to allow detection of meaningful decline. We developed a framework to extract measures of three core components of EF (memory updating, inhibitory,…

Objectives: Certain heart conditions and diseases are common in Down syndrome (DS; trisomy 21), but their role in early onset dementia that is prevalent in older adults with DS has not been evaluated. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a study of risk factors for low neurocognitive/behavioral scores obtained with a published dementia test…

Introduction: Having a diagnosis of Down syndrome (DS) is associated with intellectual disability (ID), pervasive developmental disorders and Alzheimer's dementia (AD). The association between these conditions has not been well evaluated. This paper looks to examine the current evidence pertaining to the relationship between dementia in people…

Introduction: Diagnosing dementia in people with severe/profound intellectual (and multiple) disabilities (SPI(M)D) is complex. Whereas existing dementia screening instruments as a whole are unsuitable for this population, a number of individual items may apply. Therefore, this study aimed to identify applicable items in existing dementia…

Introduction: Observable dementia symptoms are hardly studied in people with severe/profound intellectual (and multiple) disabilities (SPI(M)D). Insight in symptomatology is needed for timely signaling/diagnosis. This study aimed to identify practice-based observations of dementia symptoms in this population. Methods: Care professionals and family…

Background: Disability staff are being increasingly required to support adults with Down syndrome who develop Alzheimer's disease. They have little understanding of the nature of care required, and may lack input from aged care and dementia services, which lack knowledge of intellectual disability. The aim of this study was to report on the…

Background: Research into specific illnesses and the development of new treatments may only become possible as new technologies become available. When used for research, such technologies may best be described as "intrusive", in that they require a considerable willingness and commitment on the part of the participants. This has…

Dementia may be more common in older adults with intellectual disability (ID) than in the general population. The increased risk for Alzheimer's disease in people with Down syndrome (DS) is well established, but much less is known about dementia in adults with ID who do not have DS. We estimated incidence rates from a longitudinal study of…

Down syndrome (DS) is one of many causes of intellectual disability (ID), others including but not limited to, fetal alcohol syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, Rett syndrome, Williams syndrome, hypoxia, and infection. Down syndrome is characterized by a number of neurobiological problems resulting in learning and memory deficits and early onset…

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is the second commonest cause of dementia in the general population. Several researches have established an association between Down syndrome (DS) and Alzheimer's disease. Very few studies have however showed such an association between dementia with Lewy bodies and Down syndrome. The occurrence of DLB in persons…

Changes in psychiatric symptoms related to specific stages of dementia were investigated in 224 adults 45 years of age or older with Down syndrome. Findings indicate that psychiatric symptoms are a prevalent feature of dementia in the population with Down syndrome and that clinical presentation is qualitatively similar to that seen in Alzheimer's…

It is widely accepted that people with Down syndrome are more likely than the general population to develop Alzheimer's dementia as they age. However, the diagnosis can be problematic in this population for a number of reasons. These include: the large intra-individual variability in cognitive functioning, the different diagnostic and…

People commonly expect to stay active well into their 80s, and while it may be hard to believe, people over 100 make up the fastest growing segment of the population. Thankfully, these impressive increases in longevity have also benefited people with developmental disabilities (DD), most of whom can now expect to live just as long as their…