title: New therapies for treating Down syndrome require quality of life measurement.
abstract: Down syndrome (DS) is the most common genetic cause of cognitive deficits. Using mouse models and therapies for Alzheimer disease, researchers are exploring therapies that may improve cognitive function in people with DS. These developments shift the health economic paradigm of understanding DS from determining the appropriate screening tool to the effect of therapy on quality of life in those with DS. To date, there are no validated quality of life instruments for DS. Research should begin to develop instruments that can evaluate changes in quality of life in therapeutic trials and beyond.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacotherapy, Pharmacotherapy Outcomes Research Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA. michael.goodman@pharm.utah.edu
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Goodman
authors.forename: Diana I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Brixner
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D011788:Quality of Life; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years; D016896:Treatment Outcome