10 SEPT, 2025 – The Alzheimer’s Association has published an analysis of a 2024 RAND report that outlines the health, community, and economic benefits of more systemic and deliberate investment in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease in adults with Down syndrome. The article, published this week, was the result of a multi-year collaboration of the RAND corporation with LuMind IDSC, the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS), The Alliance for Aging Research, and the BrightFocus Foundation.

The article was written by Margaret M. Weden, Lori Frank, Andrew W. Dick, Zetianyu Wang, Susan Peschin, Diane E. Bovenkamp, Sharyn L. Rossi, Dana Sciullo, as well as Hampus Hillerstrom and Richard A. Fisher of LuMind IDSC Foundation. It was published in the September 2025 edition of Alzheimer’s & Dementia®. 

LuMind IDSC CEO Hampus Hillerstrom said he feels the Down syndrome community can only ever benefit from having this kind of analysis and attention from Alzheimer’s leaders like the Alzheimer’s Association.

“We are proud to have such high visibility for an issue that is central to the Down syndrome community’s ongoing fight for better access to Alzheimer’s diagnostics, treatments, and supports as they age,” he said. “This is an important call-to-action for policymakers that investing in the health and wellbeing of adults with Down syndrome will benefit the wider community and the country.”

Read the full text of the article here.

Read the abstract below:

“Recent innovations in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) treatment highlight critical gaps in knowledge about how to support healthy aging of adults with Down syndrome (DS). RAND researchers updated demographic and epidemiological evidence about the DS population to assess the impact of increased investment in treatment innovations for DS-associated Alzheimer’s disease (DS-AD). They estimated life expectancy at birth in 2020 to be 55 years, with ≈ 5 years of DS-AD. They found that the results of investment were dramatic. Between 2020 and 2070, adult years of life are expected to increase by 5 years without any increase in unhealthy years of life with DS-AD. Caregiving hours for individuals with DS-AD are expected to be reduced by 40%, which will generate large annual savings. The new evidence underscores the magnitude of the impact that investment in DS-AD treatments could have for individuals with DS, their families, and caregivers.”