Failure to balance on one leg for at least 20 seconds could be a warning sign of stroke or, in the longer term, the appearance of Alzheimer’s disease. According to researchers at Kyoto University in Japan, this lack of balance is indeed an indicator of micro-bleeding in the brain.
“People who show poor balance on one leg should be given more attention as it may indicate an increased risk of brain disease and cognitive decline,” said Dr. Yasuharu Tabara, who led the research, published in the Stroke medical journal.
The test: keep your leg up for a maximum of one minute
For this study, the researchers studied 841 women and 546 men with an average age of 67. These were instructed to keep their eyes open and one leg raised for up to 60 seconds.
Participants performed this test twice and the best of the two times was used for the analysis.
They then underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess the possible damage to the small vessels in the brain, which can affect the blood flow of the brain. MRI showed that the 34.5% who had lesions on the small vessels were also the ones who had the most difficulty maintaining balance. “Standing on one leg is a simple measure of postural instability which is a sign of certain instabilities in the brain that can generate a form of dementia like Alzheimer’s disease,” Dr Tabara insisted.
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