The 2-minute test that helps to spot early dementia
A PIONEERING test could dramatically increase early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, according to researchers.
The two-minute check measures how brain waves respond to a series of images and could help identify dementia years earlier.
Participants look at flashing pictures on a computer screen while wearing a special cap which records the data.
Researchers at the University of Bath said the technique was highly effective at picking up small, subtle changes in brain waves which occur when a person remembers an image.
They added it is a passive test, meaning participants do not need to understand the task or respond.
The system – called Fastball EEG – is cheap, portable and relies on technology already used in hospitals, the team said.
EEG means electroencephalogram, which is a recording of brain activity. Scientists are beginning to use the technique in a study of the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s at Southmead Hospital in Bristol.
The disease is the underlying cause of around 60 per cent of dementia cases and estimates suggest it costs the economy £26billion a year.
Alzheimer’s is currently identified by examining cognitive decline, often with memory tests. But earlier diagnosis could help with prescribing medication and allow lifestyle changes to slow the disease.
The academics hope Fastball EEG could help lower the age of diagnosis by up to five years.
Lead researcher Dr George Stothart described it as a ‘genuinely novel way’ of measuring how a brain is functioning.
He said: ‘The tests we currently use to diagnose Alzheimer’s miss the first 20 years of the disease, which means we are missing huge opportunities to help people.
‘For decades now, we’ve had tools in scientific research able to probe how the brain is working, but we have never made the leap to a viable clinical tool for the objective assessment of cognition. We hope that Fastball may be that leap.
‘We are at a really exciting stage in its development.’
He added: ‘Ultimately, the holy grail of a tool like this would be a dementia screening tool used in middle age for everyone, regardless of symptoms, in the same way we test for high blood pressure.’
The study was funded by Alzheimer’s charity BRACE and published in the journal Brain.