Neck scan could be key to dementia diagnosis

Pulse-intensity could hold key to identifying patients most at risk of developing the disease in later life

A neck scan could predict the potential onset of dementia 10 years before its symptoms appear, researchers have found. Experts hope the five-minute test could become part of routine screening for those at risk of developing the disease. The study involved monitoring the strength of the pulse travelling to the brain. It showed the pulse intensity in patients who went on to develop problems was greater in the brain’s delicate blood vessels than those that did not.

A SIMPLE five-minute neck scan could predict the potential onset of dementia 10 years before symptoms appear, researchers have found.

Experts hope it could become part of routine screening for those in middleage at risk of developing the disease.

The study, led by scientists from University College London (UCL), involved monitoring the strength of the pulse travelling towards the brain.

As the heart beats, the physical pulse it generates reaches different parts of the body at different levels of intensity.

Researchers said that healthy, elastic vessels near the heart usually cushion each heartbeat, diminishing its energy and therefore preventing it from reaching delicate blood vessels elsewhere in the body.

However, factors such as ageing and high blood pressure can cause the vessels to stiffen and may diminish their protective effect. As a result, a progressively stronger pulse can travel deep into the brain’s fragile vessels.

Over time, this can cause damage to the small vessels of the brain, structural changes in the brain’s blood vessel network and minor bleeds known as mini strokes, that could all contribute to the development of dementia.

Prof Metin Avkiran, the associate medical director of the British Heart Foundation, which co-funded the research, said: “This test may provide a new way to identify people at risk of cognitive decline long before they display any noticeable symptoms.

“What we need now is further research, for example to understand whether lifestyle changes and medicines that reduce pulse wave intensity also delay cognitive decline.”

The study involved almost 3,200 middle-aged volunteers who were tracked over a period of 15 years.

Participants were given an ultrasound in 2002 that measured the intensity of the pulse travelling to the brain. Their memory and problemsolving abilities were then monitored. Those with the highest intensity pulse at the start of the study were around 50per cent more likely to exhibit accelerated cognitive decline over the following decade compared to the others.

The difference was present even after adjustments for possible confounding factors, such as age, body mass index, blood pressure, diabetes and any other heart conditions.

Researchers said cognitive decline was a noticeable and measurable reduction in cognitive abilities including memory, language, thinking and judgment. They plan to test whether the scan improves predictive “risk scores” for dementia that already exists.

The research is being presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions conference in Chicago.