A Possible Cure for Down's Syndrome?

Our blogger, Sue Trinidad, had posted about changes in testing for Down's syndrome before, but another interesting medical news item appeared today about a potential way to treat the cognitive deficits caused by Down's Syndrome: At the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Meeting, investigators reported tha the learning deficits of mice with trisomy 21 appear to have been prevented with a peptide combination. Although the data and conclusions of the study should be considered to be preliminary as they have not yet been reviewed and published in a peer-reviewed publication, the results have sparked anticipation about the use of peptides in patients with Down's. And which raises an interesting ethical question to ponder: assuming that the therapies become safe and readily accessible, could there ever be a justification for a parent withholding such therapy?

Full article accessible here.