Alzheimer's disease and Down's syndrome: sharing of a unique cerebrovascular amyloid fibril protein.

The cerebrovascular amyloid protein from a case of adult Down's syndrome was isolated and purified. Amino acid sequence analysis showed it to be homologous to that of the beta protein of Alzheimer's disease. This is the first chemical evidence of a relationship between Down's syndrome and Alzheimer's disease. It suggests that Down's syndrome may be a predictable model for Alzheimer's disease. Assuming the beta protein is a human gene product, it also suggests that the genetic defect in Alzheimer's disease is localized on chromosome 21.