• November 3rd, 2021

Will Alzheimer's disease be predicted with a simple test?

Developing Alzheimer's disease or another form of dementia is one of our biggest fears when we think about old age. Deaths from these diseases, as well as the deterioration of the lives of patients diagnosed with these diseases, are constantly increasing in Europe, especially against the backdrop of an aging population.

But what if these diseases could be predicted with the help of a simple test? What measures could you take given that science has not yet found remedies that would slow down the evolution of this degenerative process?

According to British journalists from the publication dailymail.co.uk, a spin-off company of the University of Cambridge, called Cognetivity Neurosciences, has developed a simple, five-minute diagnostic test, which, the company claims, will instantly and accurately predict the risk of Alzheimer's in the next 15 years. Currently, most people are only diagnosed once symptoms — such as severe memory loss, confusion, forgetting words, or anxiety — start to appear.

What does the test involve?

Here’s what James Medcalf, chief commercial officer of Cognetivity Neurosciences, explained. “In the test, you are shown images of either an animal or no animal for a short period of time, about 100 milliseconds. You are asked to quickly respond to whether you see an animal by pressing ‘yes’ or ‘no,’” he says. The task engages some of the most basic structures in our brains, such as the amygdala, which helps regulate our fight-or-flight responses. But why is this response important in predicting dementia risk?

“In the early stages of Alzheimer’s, it’s not memory that’s affected,” he added. “Research shows that your brain’s processing speed starts to slow down, and that’s what the new test shows.” The company says the test is so simple that it plans to sell a shortened, two-minute version to anyone who wants to use it at home. “You could use it every day to see how you’re doing over the weeks,” Medcalf adds.


Source: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/

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