AP22881

Minocycline antibiotics may slow or prevent Down syndrome progression (Science Daily, 2014).

Down syndrome the most common of intellectual disabilities occurs in 1 out of every 691 live births. [|Down syndrome]: a genetic disorder having 3 copies of __//chromosome 21//__.

At the University of California Davis School of Medicine and Shriners' Hospitals for Children, Northern California. Researchers developed a cellular model for studying brain development in Down syndrome patients. This model is more realistic than conventional animal studies because the patients’ own cells are used. Neurons in the brain are considered the **//thinking cells//**, [|Astroglial cells] a critical factor in the dysfunction of neurons in the brain and this is the first study to demonstrate their importance.

Using Down syndrome patients’ own cells [this academic paper requires] understanding how human (skin) cells are transformed into human stem cells [Barrett’s Law #6]. iPSC or [|induced pluripotent stem cells] because they have the exact __//genetic//__ makeup of the patient can be grown (transformed) into many types of cells. The donor cells were grown into astroglial cell and __//neuron cells//__ this allowed for a systematic approach, analyzing the effects of pure Down syndrome genetic cells on neuron cells. Cells were introduced (implanted) into mice. Researchers found a __//quantitative//__ increase in the amount of the protein [|S100B] in the brains of mice implanted with cells from Down syndrome patients, the mice implanted with normal cells did not.

Antibiotic drug screen process took place in petri dishes; specific drugs could be introduced onto plates and their effects evaluated. Researchers discovered large number of abnormalities observed in the astroglial and neuron cells were corrected and more healthy interactions established between cells were seen as compared to control cells using [|Minocycline] aka Tetracycline antibiotics.

“Using this technology, the study is the first to discover the critical role of astroglial cells in Down syndrome as well as identify a promising pathway for exploring how a drug such as minocycline may offer an effective way to help treat it." - //__David Pleasure, professor of neurology and pediatrics and a co-author of the study. - research director at Shriners' Hospital for Children Northern California__//

References:

Science Daily. (2014, July 18). //Support' cells in brain play important role in Down syndrome//. Retrieved from Science Daily: [] University of California - Davis Health System. (2014, July 18). Retrieved from Scientific Daily: []  (Wikipedia)

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