Welcome to this edition of the Down Syndrome Support Newsletter!

Thanks to everyone who came out to MacDonald's playland last month for a fun meeting. It was great seeing so many new faces.

Jennifer
aka 'Brandon's Mom'

If you have a story, event, or happening email it to info@dssupport.net and we can include it in the next edition.

-------- CALENDAR --------

GiGi's Playhouse Fundraiser
Sunday, April 18, 2004
1 - 4 pm
The Barn, 6526 Clarendon Hills Rd., Willowbrook
$15 in Advance; $20 at the door
Kids Games and Prizes, Bozo Buckets, Bean Bag Toss, Rattle Snake Round-up, Mini Basketball, Moon Walk, Petting Zoo and More.

Easter Seals Celebration Telethon
Saturday, April 12, 2004
12 noon - midnight
Empress Casino Joliet
12 hours of live cable television, showcasing Easter Seals clients, staff, 36 local talent acts, sponsors & donors, phone teams taking pledges. Our free studio Audience makes it fun for the whole family! To volunteer, 815-773-9362 x 201. For sponsorship & other information, 815-730-2052

NADS Annual Meeting
Friday, May 21
Lutheran General Hospital
Park Ridge, IL
www.nads.org

NDSS Conference
July 22–25, 2004
Washington, DC
www.ndss.org

NDSC Conference
August 20-22, 2004
Minneapolis, MN
www.ndsccenter.org

Calendar updates can be found at www.dssupport.net/local_happenings.html

Know of an event or other news? Email info@dssupport.net for inclusion in the next newsletter.

DVD for new parents
DS Support has purchased a copy of Down Syndrome the First 18 months If you would like to borrow the DVD please let me know at the next meeting. You will be expected to return the DVD within 2 weeks. This is a great resource for new parents.

The Family Resource Center on Disabilities is sponsoring a couple of FREE upcoming workshops:

Saturday, May 15, 2004
9 am - 3:30 p.m
Least Restrictive Environment: How to make it work for your child AND Assistive Technology: How it can help your child Featuring: Carol Clifford, LRE Clearinghouse Ruth Henning, Project CHOICES Cilla Sluga, Illinois Assistive
Technology Project
Egan Center, DePaul University
243 S. Wabash Ave; Chicago

Saturday, June 12, 2004
9 a.m. - 3:30 pm
What Parents and Professionals Need to Know About Autism Featuring: The Illinois Autism/PDD Training and Technical Assistance Project, Roosevelt University; 430 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
For more information or to register, contact FRCD. At www.frcd.org - you can download the registration form and learn
more.
Family Resource Center on Disabilities
20 E. Jackson Blvd., Room 300
Chicago, IL 60604
312-939-3513 (voice)
312-939-3519 (TDD)
312-939-7297 (fax)

Did you know...
That our group has a message board.
http://forums.delphiforums.com/ds_support/start

Dementia and Down Syndrome
(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Researchers comparing brain changes leading to dementia in people with Down syndrome with those seen in Alzheimer's disease report initial results in a recent issue of Neurology.

Studies indicate 50 percent to 75 percent of all people with Down syndrome will eventually develop signs of dementia, and autopsies show nearly all people with Down syndrome show signs of the brain tangles and plaques commonly associated with Alzheimer's disease -- even when the individual in question did not appear to suffer from dementia while alive. Little research exists to explain the association between Down syndrome and Alzheimer's.

Investigators from the University of California, Irvine, are in the midst of a long-term study to gauge changes in the brains of Down syndrome patients and compare them to changes seen in Alzheimer's patients. The study involves 17 people with Down syndrome who currently show no signs of dementia, 10 people with moderate Alzheimer's, and 24 healthy control subjects. In the initial phase, all underwent positron emission tomography scans to measure glucose metabolic rates in the brain while performing a task involving mental abilities. GMR is known to play a role in dementia.

Results showed lower GMR levels in Down syndrome and Alzheimer's patients when compared to the healthy controls in the posterior cingulate, an area of the brain known to exhibit decreased function in early Alzheimer's. However, GMR was lower in Alzheimer's patients and higher in Down syndrome patients when compared to controls in another brain area related to Alzheimer's -- the temporal cortex.

The investigators plan to continue to follow these patients to see if GMR in the temporal cortex of the Down syndrome patients begins to mimic that seen in the Alzheimer's patients as clinical signs of dementia develop. Ultimately, they hope to find a very early stage at which GMR occurs in the brains of Alzheimer's patients and a way to scan for this occurrence, leading to better treatment for the condition.