Adults with Down syndrome (DS) develop Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology by their fifth decade. Compared with the general population, traditional vascular risks in adults with DS are rare, allowing examination of cerebrovascular disease in this population and insight into its role in AD without the confound of vascular risk factors. We examined in vivo MRI‐based biomarkers of cerebrovascular pathology in adults with DS, and determined their cross‐sectional relationship with age, beta‐amyloid pathology, and mild cognitive impairment or clinical AD diagnostic status.
The findings highlight the prevalence of cerebrovascular disease in adults with DS and add to a growing body of evidence that implicates cerebrovascular disease as a core feature of AD and not simply a comorbidity.