Alzheimer's disease can start even decades before the onset of symptoms/Seymour system in a minute
Researchers from the University of California have developed an application that uses memory and sorting games to identify signs of dementia with the same level of accuracy as existing medical tests.
In one case out of 30 cases of dementia, it is frontotemporal dementia (FTD), which mainly affects people between the ages of 45 and 65. The symptoms of this type of dementia are characterized by behavioral changes and personality changes, which can be mistakenly diagnosed as a psychiatric disorder.
The app was able to differentiate between people with FTD dementia and those without with 93 percent accuracy, a level of accuracy equal to diagnosis using conventional medical tools. In addition, the application was also able to detect memory loss with an accuracy of 82 percent, and here again the level of accuracy is almost the same as that of the standard diagnostic tests.
The initial symptoms of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are different from those that appear in other dementia patients. Usually the memory will be the first to be affected and also the cognition.
The family of actor Bruce Willis announced last year that he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) - less than a year after he retired from acting due to his battle with aphasia, which included a speech and language disorder/screenshot, Instagram
People with FTD in the initial stages of the disease will suffer from emotional and behavioral problems. For example, it is very common to see impulsive behaviors, inappropriate comments in public, cursing and even theft.
The disease can also manifest itself in the form of aphasia, which affects language, speaking, writing and understanding skills.
In a study that examined the effectiveness of the new application, 360 people participated who had a genetic predisposition to the disease but had not yet developed symptoms. They performed tests of executive function, such as planning and prioritizing, filtering distractions and controlling impulses. The average age of the participants was 54.
During the study, the participants played various games using the application, which was developed in collaboration with the software company Datacubed Health. This phase of the research lasted 11 days, during which the subjects attended three separate meetings, each of which lasted about half an hour. One specific test was conducted every six months to diagnose any improvement that might have occurred with the practice.
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The level of accuracy is the same as conventional medical tests
Of all those studied, 59% were without symptoms, 20% were in the early stages of the disease, and 21% of the participants already had symptoms of the disease. About 45% of the participants underwent genetic testing and were found to be carriers of a gene related to the disease.
In one of the games the subjects played, they were required to identify which direction the central duck was facing in a group of ducks that appeared on the screen. In another game, the users were asked to learn the food orders of several tables in a restaurant and transfer them to the correct tables. Poor performance in games signaled the degree of brain shrinkage. In FTD, the part of the brain responsible for executive function, such as problem solving, shrinks as the disease progresses.
The app also recorded changes in speech and body movements. Patients with FTD often suffer from slower speech. In addition, they have difficulty making the right sounds when saying a word, and use words incorrectly or mix up the order of words in a sentence. Some people with FTD also suffer from involuntary body movements, such as tremors, muscle spasms, stiffness and poor balance.
"The application may be used to monitor the effects of the treatment, and it can completely or partially replace the need to go to medical tests," said Dr. Adam Steproni, a neuroscientist and partner in the study.
The application was able to accurately diagnose between participants without symptoms and those with dementia, with an accuracy rate of 93 percent.She was also able to accurately distinguish between people without symptoms and those in the early stages of the disease.
Bruce Willis' Dual Diagnosis: How Aphasia Can Lead to Dementia
Actor Bruce Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) less than a year after being diagnosed with aphasia in the spring of 2022, after suffering a loss of the ability to understand or speak.
Most patients with FTD receive the diagnosis of their disease relatively late. The average age at which symptoms appear is 54, but many patients will not be diagnosed until their early to mid-60s. "Because these are usually young patients, their symptoms are mistaken for a psychiatric disorder," explains Dr. Adam Boxer, a neurologist at the University of San Francisco who served as the lead researcher on the study. "We've heard from quite a few families that they often suspect their loved one has FTD long before the doctor Agree that's the diagnosis."
Currently, there are no treatments or cures for FTD, although doctors will usually treat symptoms with existing psychiatric medications. Because FTD first presents with behavioral and mood problems, many people with the disease are diagnosed early with depression or Bipolar disorder.
The disease itself is not fatal, but it can cause other problems. Over time, as the condition of the brain deteriorates, patients with the disease will experience worsening behavioral and cognitive symptoms. As motor skills decline, FTD patients become much more susceptible to potentially fatal falls and other accidents , as well as other complications such as pneumonia.
Patients with the disease may also develop difficulty swallowing, which may lead to dehydration and malnutrition. Also, their risk level increases for heart disease or diabetes, due to changes in daily habits as well as blood pressure regulation, and loss of rhythm control the heart.
At this stage, the application is not expected to be available to the public, but to dementia research teams. The researchers hope that the application they developed will lead the way to further research on the disease from which hundreds of thousands suffer worldwide.
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