There Alzheimer’s disease is one of the neurodegenerative diseases. It is characterized by the degeneration nerve cells which implies a progressive loss of memory and certain intellectual functions. According to the latest estimates, 1.2 million people could be affected by Alzheimer’s or a related disease in France. Of this figure, about 750,000 people are diagnosed.
To date, it is not possible to cure this disease, but only to slow down the appearance of symptoms. The earlier the diagnosis, the better the patient’s chances of limiting the progression of the disease before it interferes too much with his daily life.
A news study should help in the diagnosis. Researchers were able to detect Alzheimer’s-related changes in patients using a test that can be self-completed in minutes directly from a phone portable.
The study was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
A third of participants without cognitive impairment experienced difficulties during this test
” This test is a more objective assessment done with a questionnaire completed by someone who knows the individual well.said Gad Marshall, MD, the study’s lead author and neurologist. We can actually detect a clinically significant change much sooner than expected. “.
This test includes three tasks that an elderly person can carry out via a telephone menu, such as the renewal of a arrangementthe call of a health insurance company and the management of a Bank transaction. The test, which was developed and validated at Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment at the Brigham and MGHasks participants to navigate through an interactive voice response system to accomplish these tasks.
Nearly one-third of participants who were clinically healthy (without cognitive impairment) had signs of high amyloid and tau protein in their brain and met problems with the most difficult tasks. We know that most people with Alzheimer’s disease will first present with short-term memory difficulties, difficulty finding their words and problems with their sense of direction. They may also exhibit decreased motivation, depression, irritability, and anxiety.
” Although these results are preliminary, they report that there is an association between an objective measure of instrumental activities of daily living and the interaction of tau and amyloid in a sample of cognitively normal older adults. summarized Chris Gonzalez, first author of the study, a former research assistant in the Department of Neurology at Brigham.
As an indication, it should be known that Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by the alteration of the tau protein which stabilizes the structure of neurons.
Concretely, if this study is promisingthis is because it would make it possible to identify people affected by Alzheimer’s disease before the symptoms and cognitive changes are visible, which would guarantee a very early diagnosis.