DS/euploid Ageing Study - 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigation of immunometabolic links between inflammaging and cognitive decline in individuals with trisomy 21
IRAS ID
365783
Contact name
Christoph Hess
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Cambridge
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Changes to our mental and physical health as we age are driven by changes to our metabolism, especially fat metabolism, and the development of chronic inflammation across the body. Moreover, it is often accompanied by the development of diseases that are more frequent amongst older people including different forms of dementia. Trisomy 21, more commonly known as Down Syndrome (DS) is a condition whereby a person carries 3 copies of chromosome 21. Chromosome 21 carries between 200 – 300 genes that encode different proteins, and every cell of a person with Down Syndrome makes, ~1.5 times more of these proteins than someone without Down Syndrome. This has wide ranging biological repercussions including changes to fat metabolism, and the development of chronic inflammation at a young age, which leads to people with Down Syndrome ageing younger than people without. Moreover, these changes in metabolism and the immune system likely contribute to the development ageing related diseases and declining health already at a young age in people with Down Syndrome. Yet, how fat metabolism and inflammation intersect to shape health in older adults with DS remains underexplored.
In this project we seek to understand how different kinds of fats that accumulate in the blood of people with DS act on immune cells to mediate the development of inflammation across the body, and the effect this has on health in older age. Moreover, we want to test if we can predict “healthy” and “unhealthy” ageing in adults with DS based on distinct fats measured in the blood. Finally, we will explore if we can use diets, dietary supplements or drugs to improve health in older adults with DS by depleting “bad” fats, increasing “good fats” or by blocking their bad effects on immune cells that contribute to declining health and development of dementia.REC name
North West - Greater Manchester West Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/NW/0094
Date of REC Opinion
25 Mar 2026
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion