New Hope For People with "Mental Retardation"

One cause of mental retardation (Down syndrome) in children is a disorder neurotransmitter called norepinephrine. If this disorder can be corrected, big hope for mentally retarded children have intelligence like a normal child.

The theory is now being tested by Ahmad Salehi, scientists from Stanford University School of Medicine, USA. In his research he uses norepinephrine to reverse the learning ability in mice that have symptoms similar to mental retardation in humans, which has the increase in the number of chromosomes.


"In theory this could help the development of cognitive function or intelligence in young Down syndrome or mental retardation," Salehi said that his research published in the journal Science Translational Medicine. According to his research Salehi is the first study in the case of mental retardation that targets the neropinephrine system.

In the early years, child Down syndrome or mental retardation typically do not experience growth retardation, but with age they have trouble capturing the contextual and spatial information. This function is highly influenced by the brain called the hippocampus. IQ of mentally retarded children below normal, 80-100. In normal children, his IQ 90-105.

Normally, when contextual memory is formed, hippocampal nerve received norepinephrine from nerves in the brain the locus coeruleus. In mentally retarded children, as seen in rats, locus coeruleus it was damaged. As a result, the intelligence of children can be disturbed. When mice were given norepinephrine, which is converted in the brain by neurotransmitters and hormones, the problem can be overcome.

The results of this research opens the wish to help improve the intelligence of mentally retarded children. "Maybe we can use a drug that is converted into norepinephrine, or the like so that it has the same effect," said Salehi.