Scientists develop test that could detect dementia nine years before the disease strikes

Scientists have developed a unique test that can predict dementia up to nine years before diagnosis – and with an accuracy of 80 percent.

Experts hope the findings provide a test Alzheimer’s disease, the leading cause of dementia, could be available ‘within a few years’.

The researchers from Queen Mary University of London claimed their method was better than memory tests or measures of brain shrinkage, two commonly used diagnostic tools for the condition.

Their test uses brain scans while the brain is in ‘idle mode’ – a term for where the mind is not focused on any specific task.

They said this technique has the “potential to fill a huge clinical gap” by identifying people at risk of dementia and treating them before symptoms manifest.

The researchers from Queen Mary University of London claimed their method was better than memory tests or measures of brain shrinkage, two commonly used diagnostic tools. The test uses brain scans while the brain is in ‘idle mode’ – where the mind is not focused on any particular task

The team, led by Professor Charles Marshall, looked at brain scans of more than 1,100 people from UK Biobank, a database of genetic and health information on half a million Britons.

Of the 103 people with dementia, 81 had a brain scan between five months and 8.5 years before the official diagnosis was made.

Their brain scans showed less connectivity in inactive mode compared to those who did not develop dementia, the findings showed.

Professor Marshall said: ‘Predicting who will develop dementia in the future will be crucial for developing treatments that can prevent the irreversible loss of brain cells that cause the symptoms of dementia.

‘Although we are getting better at detecting the proteins in the brain that can cause Alzheimer’s disease, many people live with these proteins in their brains for decades without developing symptoms of dementia.

‘We hope that the measure of brain function we have developed will allow us to be much more precise about whether someone will actually develop dementia, and how quickly, so that we can determine whether he or she could benefit from future treatments.’

The findings have been published in the journal Nature Mental Health.

Professor Andrew Doig, an expert in biochemistry at the University of Manchester who was not involved in the research, said the findings could mean that an early predictive test for Alzheimer’s disease could be just “a few years” away.

‘Dementia is a complex condition and it is unlikely that we will ever find one simple test that can accurately diagnose it.

‘However, there are good reasons to believe that within a few years we will see routine testing for dementia in middle-aged people, using a combination of methods such as a blood test followed by imaging.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. The disease can cause anxiety, confusion and short-term memory loss

‘The MRI connectivity method described here could be part of this diagnostic platform.

‘Then we will have excellent insight into which people are likely to benefit most from the new generation of dementia medicines.’

But Dr Richard Oakley, deputy director of research and innovation at the Alzheimer’s Society, said that while the research could identify structural changes in the brain before symptoms of dementia appear, more studies are needed “involving diverse groups of people of different ages and ethnicities.” involved in order to function fully’. understand the benefits and limitations of this MRI scan as a diagnostic tool’.

Tara Spires-Jones, FMedSci, chair of the British Neuroscience Association and professor at the UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Edinburgh, also urged caution.

She said that while these types of brain scans are useful, they are “not widely available nor perfect at predicting who will develop dementia.”