DECRYPTION – The injection of a hormone has improved the cognitive abilities of a small number of patients. For people with trisomy 21, the issue of empowerment in adulthood is key. This disease, characterized by the presence of a third chromosome 21, whole or partial, induces, among other things, an intellectual deficiency of varying degrees. However, French and Swiss researchers have obtained interesting results by administering hormone treatment to adults with Down syndrome for six months. The molecule used is GnRH, a hormone naturally produced by the hypothalamus in the brain to regulate reproduction and puberty. Why did the researchers, whose work is published this Thursday in Science, pay attention to it in trisomy 21? On the one hand, previous studies have shown that neurons sensitive to this hormone have an action in regions of the brain controlling cognition – which is why the same molecule is also beginning to be tested in Alzheimer’s disease. Vincent Prévot’s team, from… This article is for subscribers only. You have 83% left to discover. Pushing back the limits of science is also freedom. Continue reading your article for €0.99 for the first month Already a subscriber? Login