A year ago, the Roche Laboratory published results obtained in a murine model showing that, by suppressing the GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) transmitter, which functions too strongly in people with Down syndrome, thereby slowing down their neurone activity, it was possible to improve their cognitive capacity. Since the molecules that activate this neurotransmitter have been identified, the main aim today is to highlight molecules having the opposite effect. Roche is about to launch a trial with an inhibitor molecule.
In the previous phase which assessed the molecule’s non-toxic properties, Professor William Mobley, President of the Scientific Committee of the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation in the United States, took part in ex-vivo (outside the body) trials and then trials involving mice. The Jérôme Lejeune Foundation will represent France in the clinical trial phase per se.
