Ageing and Down syndrome: Neurocognitive characteristics and pharmacological treatment.

Individuals with Down Syndrome (DS) are commonly characterized by unique neurocognitive and neurobehavioural profiles that emerge within specific stages in the developmental continuum. A plethora of studies have confirmed DS's relationship to premature aging and subsequent cognitive decline. Due to having three copies of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) gene which results in amyloid-beta plaque deposition, the cognitive decline often resembles the decline observed in Alzheimer's disease. More specifically, as individuals with DS mature in age (>40) they experience a dramatic increase in difficulties in several cognitive domains, such as language, visuo-spatial abilities, executive functions, working memory, etc. Especially, frontal functions are reported to show an inverse correlation with age. In contrast to the pronounced and well-described neuropsychological deficits, psychiatric symptoms presented by this patient category are not uniform. Mental health disturbances commonly include general anxiety, obsessive-compulsive or oppositional/aggressive behaviors, depression and sleep disorders, as well as self-injury and behavior belonging to autistic spectrum disorders. Therefore, the purpose of the present review is twofold. Our first goal is to depict the cognitive and behavioural phenotype of adults with DS and our second goal is to review the current treatment options available for the behavioral and psychological symptoms, with an emphasis put on the quality of evidence available through meta-analyses and appraising critically the anecdotal treatment often applied. We also present a review on the psychotropic medication, especially acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, that can potentially slow the progression of cognitive decline of those patients. Finally, novel therapeutic strategies, psychological interventions and future diagnostic and therapeutic challenges are discussed.

Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA-Ch): Greek Normative Data and Discriminative Validity for Children with Combined Type of Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder.

We examined the utility of the Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA-Ch) for Greek children. Discrete and regression-based norms, controlling for demographic characteristics and intelligence, were derived from the performance of 172 children. We also assessed the ability of the TEA-Ch to differentiate children with ADHD-Combined Type (ADHD-C) from healthy matched peers. Children with ADHD-C displayed dysfunction in multiple attentional domains. Discriminant function analysis indicated that two subtests (Sky Search and Walk, Don't Walk) correctly classified 84.2% of children with ADHD-C.

Color Trails Test: normative data and criterion validity for the greek adult population.

The Color Trails Test (CTT) was developed as a culturally fair analog of the Trail Making Test. In the present study, normative data for the CTT were developed for the Greek adult population and further the criterion validity of the CTT was examined in two clinical groups (29 Parkinson's disease [PD] and 25 acute stroke patients). The instrument was applied to 163 healthy participants, aged 19-75. Stepwise linear regression analyses revealed a significant influence of age and education level on completion time in both parts of the CTT (increased age and decreased educational level contributed to slower completion times for both parts), whereas gender did not influence time to completion of part B. Further, the CTT appears to discriminate adequately between the performance of PD and acute stroke patients and matched healthy controls.