International
Treatment improves cognition in Down Syndrome patients
AFP
A new hormone treatment improved the cognitive function of six men with Down Syndrome by 10-30 percent, scientists said Thursday, adding the “promising” results may raise hopes of improving patients’ quality of life.
However the scientists emphasised the small study did not point towards a cure for the cognitive disorders of people with Down Syndrome and that far more research is needed.
“The experiment is very satisfactory, even if we remain cautious,” said Nelly Pitteloud of Switzerland’s Lausanne University Hospital and co-author of a new study in the journal Science.
Down Syndrome is the most common genetic form of intellectual disability, occurring in around one in 1,000 people, according to the World Health Organization.
Yet previous research has failed to significantly improve cognition when applied to people with the condition, which is why the latest findings are “particularly important”, the study said.
Recent discoveries have suggested that how the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is produced in the brain can affect cognitive functioning such as memory, language and learning.
GnRH hormones regulate how much testosterone and estrogen is produced and increased levels of it help spur puberty.
“We wondered if this hormone could play any role in establishing the symptoms of people with Down Syndrome,” said Vincent Prevot, study co-author and head of neuroscience research at France’s INSERM institute.
– Mice research –
The team first established that five strands of microRNA regulating the production of GnRH were dysfunctional in mice specifically engineered for Down Syndrome research.
They then demonstrated that cognitive deficiencies — as well as loss of smell, a common symptom of Down Syndrome — were linked to dysfunctioning GnRH secretion in the mice.
The team then gave the mice a GnRH medication used to treat low testosterone and delayed puberty in humans, finding that it restored some cognitive function and sense of smell.
A pilot study was conducted in Switzerland involving seven men with Down Syndrome aged 20 to 50.
They each received the treatment through their arm every two hours over a period of six months, with the drug delivered in pulses to mimic the hormone’s frequency in people without Down Syndrome.
Cognition and smell tests were carried out during the treatment, as were MRI scans.
Six of the seven men showed improvement in cognition with no significant side effects — however none showed a change in their sense of smell.
“We have seen an improvement of between 10-30 percent in cognitive functions, in particular with visuospatial function, three-dimensional representation, understanding of instructions as well as attention,” Pitteloud said.
The patients were asked to draw a simple 3D bed at several stages throughout the therapy. Many struggled at the beginning but by the end the efforts were noticeably better.
– ‘Improve quality of life’ –
The authors acknowledged some limitations of the study, including its size and that the choice of patients was “pushed by their parents”.
“The clinical trial only focused on seven male patients — we still have a lot of work to do to prove the effectiveness of GnRH treatment for Down Syndrome,” Pitteloud said.
A larger study involving a placebo and 50 to 60 patients, a third of them women, is expected to begin in the coming months.
“We are not going to cure the cognitive disorders of people with Down Syndrome, but the improvement seen in our results already seems fundamental enough to hope to improve their quality of life,” Pitteloud said.
Fabian Fernandez, an expert in cognition and Down Syndrome at the University of Arizona who was not involved in the research, hailed the “tour de force study”.
He told AFP that while it is “difficult to envision” how such an intensive treatment could be used for young people, it might be better suited to delay the Alzheimer’s disease-related dementia suffered by many adults with Down Syndrome.
It was also difficult to predict how such an improvement could impact the lives of people with the condition, he said.
“For some, it could be significant, however, as it would enable them to be more independent with daily living activities such as maintaining and enjoying hobbies, finding belongings, using appliances in the home, and travelling alone.”
International
Climate-driven rains trigger one of Indonesia’s deadliest flood emergencies in years
A torrential monsoon season, compounded by two unusual tropical cyclones, has triggered intense rainfall in several regions since last week, including southern Thailand, northern Malaysia, and large parts of Indonesia.
Climate change has recently intensified rainfall patterns, as a warmer atmosphere is able to hold more moisture. In Indonesia, desperation is growing among those affected by the disaster due to the slow pace of rescue operations and the distribution of humanitarian aid.
Relief agencies warned that the scale of the emergency is nearly unprecedented, even for a country accustomed to frequent natural disasters.
Across the island of Sumatra, the death toll was revised downward to 770 fatalities and at least 463 people still missing as of Wednesday night. Earlier, the national disaster management agency had reported 804 deaths.
Gathering accurate information on the ground remains difficult, as many regions are still cut off due to flood damage, widespread power outages, communication failures, or a combination of all three.
International
Russian authorities ban Roblox citing child safety and moral concerns
Russia has blocked access to the U.S.-owned game creation platform Roblox, accusing it of distributing extremist materials and what authorities described as “LGBT propaganda,” state media reported on Wednesday.
The country has repeatedly threatened to ban certain foreign digital platforms, a move that human rights organizations view as part of broader efforts by authorities to tighten control over internet use.
In a statement released through Russian news agencies, the federal communications watchdog Roskomnadzor accused Roblox of hosting “inappropriate content that can negatively affect the spiritual and moral development of children.”
“The game exposes minors to sexual harassment, tricks them into sharing intimate photos, and encourages them to commit acts of depravity and violence,” the regulator claimed.
Last week, the same agency also threatened to ban WhatsApp, the country’s second most widely used messaging app, accusing it of failing to prevent criminal activity.
Roblox, which is owned by the U.S.-based Roblox Corporation, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to company data for 2024, the platform has around 100 million daily users worldwide, nearly 40% of whom are under the age of 13.
Other countries, including Qatar, Iraq and Turkey, have also restricted or banned Roblox, mainly over concerns about the safety of underage users. In the United States, the states of Texas and Louisiana have filed lawsuits against the platform on similar grounds.
International
El Chapo’s son Joaquín Guzmán López pleads guilty to U.S. drug trafficking charges
Joaquín Guzmán López, one of the sons of notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, pleaded guilty on Monday to drug trafficking charges in a U.S. court, months after his brother Ovidio reached a similar plea agreement, according to local media reports.
The defendant appeared before a federal court in Chicago early Monday afternoon and changed his previous plea in the case, the Chicago Tribune reported. U.S. authorities accuse him of forming, together with his three brothers, the cartel faction known as “Los Chapitos.”
The group is believed to have continued the operations of El Chapo, who has been serving a life sentence in the United States since 2019.
Guzmán López, 39, was arrested after landing in Texas in a small aircraft alongside cartel co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.
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