Mental health researchers are increasingly turning to people with Down Syndrome for clues to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

The two mental-health conditions are believed to have shared traits and as people with Down syndrome live longer, they are at far greater risk of suffering from Alzheimer’s.

New efforts are under way to identify early changes in the blood or brains of people with Down syndrome that are associated with Alzheimer’s, research into a possible vaccine, and the building of new homes to provide specialized care, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The efforts are being supported by private groups, the Alzheimer’s Association and the National Institutes of Health with the hope that studying the disease in those with Down syndrome may yield treatments more quickly for everyone.

More than three out of four people with Down syndrome aged 65 or older have Alzheimer’s — six times the prevalence in this age group overall, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

“Understanding Alzheimer’s disease in people with Down syndrome will also inform the understanding of Alzheimer’s disease in the general population,” said Michael S. Rafii, director of the Adult Down Syndrome Clinic at the University of California, San Diego.

Last November, the National Institutes of Health launched a $37 million initiative to identify biomarkers in the blood and brain that can help identify and track Alzheimer’s in people with Down syndrome. As part of the project, two research teams are enrolling more than 500 people with Down syndrome age 25 or older.