June 27, 2011
Photo: AZPM
New research looks at possible connections between Down Syndrome and sleep disorders in children.
Research under way at the University of Arizona is revealing a connection between quality of sleep and the learning and memory functions in children with Down Syndrome.
"It's well known that children with Down Syndrome are vulnerable to developing sleep apnea which results in pauses in breathing," UA psychology student Jennifer Breslin says. Breslin has been conducting a study looking at children with Down Syndrome and the occurrence of sleep apnea.
"if we can demonstrate that kids with poor sleep have poor cognitive outcomes, we can make a case for intervention and ultimately improving their behavior and learning ability," she says. "If we could give these kids a better quality of life, that would be awesome."
The developmental disorder is caused by an extra chromosome and is named after John Langdon Down, a British physician who described the illness in 1866.
"Down Syndrome is the most common genetic form of intellectual disability and usually occurs in 1 to 600 live births," Dr. Jamie Edgin of the UA's Down Syndrome Research Group says.
Note: The Down Syndrome Research Group at the University of Arizona is still recruiting participants for this study of sleep and learning, as well as other research studies relating to the cognitive difficulties in DS. For more information, visit their website here.
What do you think of this? Mom
Excellent, I have a 51 year old sister with Down Syndrome. I do believe she did as a child and still continues to have disturbed sleeping patterns. I was not aware that the behavior which she displays could be relative to apnea. Realtive to the fact that when we are not receiving enough oxygen to the brain our cognitive thinking and behavior is effected. Thank you for sharing this information and hope that it proves positive in aiding in a better quality of life for people with Down Syndrome. Sincerely, Theresa
Our daughter Courtney is 12 years old and was recently diagnosed with sleep apnea. Courtney just last night used her BiPAP machine for the first time. We are so helpful this will be the key to helping her focus at school and short term memory issues.
Thank you for sharing this fabulous work and I can't wait to read more!
Shawn
The Down Syndrome Research Group at the University of Arizona would like to make a correction to information contained in this film. The statement that the “tongue is enlarged” was made in reference to the relative size of the airway, not in comparison to those without Down Syndrome. Please see the study of Guimaraes et al. (2008) suggesting that individuals with Down syndrome do not have true macroglossia but have relatively large tongues as compared to the reduced size of the oral cavity. In this study, both the size of the tongue and size of the oral cavity were smaller in those with DS than the general population. While their tongues are smaller on average, the oral cavity is also reduced, resulting in a tongue that has a larger proportional volume for the oral cavity than found in those without Down Syndrome.
Guimaraes CV, Donnelly LF, Shott SR, Amin RS, Kalra M. Relative rather than absolute macroglossia in patients with Down syndrome: implications for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. Pediatr Radiol 2008;38(10):1062–106.
Great job you two! You both look wonderful. I have been talking about this for years and I am so glad to hear someone is doing a serious study. Blessings!
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Excellent video and information about sleep disorders in children with Down's Syndrome.