West Teays Elementary in West Virginia Supports Down Syndrome Cognitive Research

RDS received this wonderful letter in April:

Dear Friends:

On behalf of the students, staff and community of West Teays Elementary, I would like to donate the enclosed check in the amount of $2928.09 to your organization to support the worthwhile work that you do.

In recognition of World Down Syndrome Dan on March 21, we celebrated and honored students in our school and around the world who were born with Down syndrome. Our week long celebration culminated with a Walk-a-Thon on Friday, March 23. Students raised over $5800. We want to share half of that money with you. We will keep the other half to help make our school playground more accessible to students with special needs.

The week’s activities were educational, motivating and inspirational. Students at West Teays Elementary discovered the many ways that we are ALL “More Alike than Different”!

We trust the donation will further the research that will benefit our friends with Down syndrome and their

First Spouse Light the Way Initiative Observed on World Down Syndrome Day

First Spouses from U.S. states and territories observed for the second year the Light the Way event on World Down Syndrome Day March 21. The goal of the event is to enhance awareness of the rapidly advancing area of Down syndrome cognitive research, which holds great promise for improving memory, learning and communication for individuals of all ages with Down syndrome.

Participating First Spouses lit their respective governor residences in the color blue, or recognized the event in a variety of other ways in order to bring greater attention to Down syndrome cognitive research. Participation included: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Guam, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Virgin Islands, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Research Down Syndrome is grateful for the continued support of this program by the First Spouses. Many local Ds associations have joined the effort by making financial

RDS Thanks Maggie O’Neill Fine Art for March 25 Fundraiser

Research Down Syndrome was privileged to be associated with the Salon Art Party held in Washington, DC on March 25 supporting RDS and Down syndrome cognitive research. Our deepest thanks go to Maggie O’Neill Fine Art and Maggie O’Neill and all the creative artists and volunteers.Your dedication and effort will help us Empower the Extraordinary! Thank you Lincoln, Irish Whiskey Public House, and especially Ross Group at RBC Wealth Management for sponsorship that assured success of this event. Lastly, the commitment of Erin and Brendan Fry to their young Flynn and hundreds of thousands of others with Down syndrome helped make this happen. RDS was honored to be associated with all involved in this remarkable event.

RDS Runners Season is Underway

RDS Runners is the national charity racing program supporting Down syndrome cognitive research. RDS Runners teams recently competed in half marathons in New Orleans, Washington, DC and New York City. The New York City RDS Runners team was the 4th highest fundraiser in this event. 

Thank you teams. Your miles of training, event miles and motivated fundraising are supporting research that holds the promise of the development of safe and effective therapies that will enhance life opportunities for persons with Down syndrome.

Follow our RDS Runners on our team blog, where we will be posting pictures, runners’ stories, training tips and much

Light the Way Campaign Endorsed by Governor First Spouses

Research Down Syndrome is pleased to announce that New Jersey Governor First Lady Mary Pat Christie and other Governor First Spouses are sponsoring the “Light the Way” event. This program will take place on World Down Syndrome Day, March 21, 2012, bringing attention to the rapidly advancing area of Down syndrome cognitive research, which holds great promise for improving memory, learning and communication for individuals of all ages with Down syndrome.

Last year, and again this year, First Spouses will promote this campaign by lighting up their respective governor residences in the color blue or engaging in other promotional activities such as displaying the Light the Way initiative on their website, bannering the event on social network platforms, or issuing state news releases, thereby bringing increased attention to Down syndrome cognitive research.

RDS encourages individuals across the country to contact their state government office and request that their state

Scientific Advisory Board Member wins 2012 Wolf Prize in Medicine

RDS congratulates Scientific Advisory Board member Ronald Evans, for being selected as the recipient of the 2012 Wolf Prize in Medicine. This recognition is Israel’s highest award for achievements benefitting mankind. Dr. Evans is a professor and head of Salk Institute’s Gene Expression Laboratory. The Wolf Prize jury selected Evans for his discovery of the gene super-family encoding nuclear receptors and elucidating the mechanism of action of this class of receptors. A major achievement in Evans’ lab was the discovery of a large family of of receptor molecules that respond to various steroid hormones, Vitamin A and thyroid hormones. These hormones help control sugar, salt, calcium and fat metabolism; thus, they impact on our daily health as well as treatment of disease. The receptors Evans discovered are primary targets in the treatment of breast cancer, prostate cancer and leukemia, as well as osteoporosis and

National RDS Runners Program Kicks Off 2012 Season

We are excited to share news about RDS Runners, which has become THE national racing program  to greatly expand public support for Down syndrome research. RDS Runners has been accepted as a charity supporting Down syndrome research in multiple events across the country. We are recruiting runners for the Georgia Marathon on March 18, and the New Orleans and Washington D.C. Marathons on March 4 and March 17, respectively. RDS Runners has also been accepted as a charity partner in the Chicago and New York Marathons being held in the fall of 2012. In 2011, our runners competed in New York, San Diego, San Francisco and Chicago. Interested runners, we invite you to Race for the Extraordinary with the RDS Runners Team. Please share this exciting news with friends and family. And, it should be noted that many of the events in 2012 include shorter distance runs, which will allow even greater participation. Follow our RDS Runners events on Facebook. In 2012, every step taken by our RDS

RDS Research Grants Announced

Research Down Syndrome has announced 2011/2012 funding for six grants to support Down syndrome cognitive research. These RDS grants assist a field of research that has seen tremendous progress in recent years, including the September 2011 announcement by Roche of a human clinical trial to investigate the safety and tolerability of a molecule designed to address the cognitive and behavioral deficits associated with Down syndrome. Private donations continue to be the major contributor to Down syndrome cognitive research. Please make a donation to support our mission of enhancing life opportunities for persons with Down syndrome through the development of safe and effective drug therapies to improve memory, learning and

Press Release: Down Syndrome Research Consortium Established

The National Institutes of Health has joined with organizations interested in Down syndrome to form a consortium that will foster the exchange of information on biomedical and biobehavioral research on the chromosomal condition.  Read full press release.

Per Dr. Yvonne Maddox, Deputy Director, NIH Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), "A single, comprehensive forum will make the research effort to address Down syndrome more effective, minimizing duplication of effort and capitalizing on the knowledge of those with the greatest experience in the field".

RDS will participate as a consortium member. The establishment of a Contact Registry is the first order of

Roche Phase 1 Clinical Trial of Molecule to Treat Down Syndrome Cognitive Difficulties Announced

The announcement by Roche of a Phase 1 clinical trial to investigate the safety and tolerability of a molecule designed to address the cognitive and behavioral deficits associated with Down syndrome represents a landmark step in research addressing the memory, learning and communication challenges of those with Down syndrome.  Specific information regarding this trial may be found on the Roche Clinical Trial Protocol Registry. The initiation of this clinical trial provides tangible indication of progress in the rapidly advancing area of Down syndrome cognitive research that has received significant non-profit foundation support over the last several years.  Research Down Syndrome is proud to be a leading contributor to this effort.

Please help assure the continued progress of research such as this, and make a donation