A new affordable, non-invasive test that detects electrical activity in the brain may predict the risk of Alzheimer's disease, scientists say. The research was published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
Researchers from the University of Texas identified a specific variation in brain waves of people with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), who are at twice the risk in their age group of developing Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia seen among older adults. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is the recognized clinical state between healthy aging and Alzheimer's disease, while amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) is a specific type characterized by deficits in episodic memory, the ability to retain new memories such as recent conversations, events, or upcoming appointments. Electroencephalogram (EEG) technology can be used to measure cognitive deficits in individuals with aMCI.
The study involving 16 subjects with aMCI and 17 age matched healthy controls, the researchers identified a specific variation in brain waves of individuals with aMCI. The study findings depicted a pattern of delayed neural activity that is directly related to the severity of impairment in cognitive performance on a word finding task and may indicate an early dysfunction of progression to Alzheimer's disease.
Study lead author Hsueh-Sheng Chiang, post-doctoral fellow at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in the US, said, "We think this might be more sensitive and more specific in pointing out certain cognitive deficits, in this case semantic memory (or long-term memory), than other non-EEG methods available, because EEG reflects direct neural activity."
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