Scientists have developed a test, the first of its kind, that could predict dementia up to nine years before a diagnosis, and with an accuracy of 80 percent.
Experts hope the findings provide proof for Alzheimer’s, the leading cause of dementia, could be available “within a few years.”
The researchers, from Queen Mary University of London, said their method was better than memory tests or measurements 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 when the mind is not focused on any particular specific task.
They said this technique has the “potential to fill a huge clinical gap” by identifying people who are at risk of dementia and treating them before symptoms start to appear.
Researchers at Queen Mary University of London said their method was better than memory tests or measurements of brain shrinkage, two commonly used diagnostic tools. The test uses brain scans while the brain is in “sleep mode,” where the mind is not focused on any particular task.
The team, led by Professor Charles Marshall, examined brain scans of more than 1,100 people from the UK Biobank, a database containing genetic and health information on half a million Britons.
Among the 103 people with dementia, 81 underwent brain scans between five months and 8.5 years before being officially diagnosed.
Their brain scans showed less connectivity in idle mode compared to those who did not develop dementia, the findings showed.
Professor Marshall said: “Predicting who will suffer from dementia in the future will be vital to developing treatments that can prevent the irreversible loss of brain cells that causes dementia symptoms.”
“Although we are getting better at detecting proteins in the brain that can cause Alzheimer’s disease, many people live for decades with these proteins in the brain 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 and when someone will actually develop dementia, so we can identify whether they might benefit from future treatments.”
The findings are published in the journal Nature Mental Health.
Professor Andrew Doig, a biochemistry expert at the University of Manchester who was not involved in the study, said the findings could mean that an early Alzheimer’s predictive test could be just “a few years” away.
‘Dementia is a complex disease and it is unlikely that we will ever find a simple test that can accurately diagnose it.
‘However, within a few years, there is good reason to believe that we will be routinely 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 a good understanding of which people are likely to benefit most from the new generation of dementia drugs.”
But Dr. Richard Oakley, associate director of research and innovation at the Alzheimer’s Society, said that while the research was able to identify structural changes in the brain before dementia symptoms appear, more studies are needed “involving diverse groups of people of different ages and ethnicities to fully understand the benefits and limitations of this MRI as a diagnostic tool.”
Tara Spiers-Jones, FMedSci, president of the British Neuroscience Association and professor at the UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Edinburgh, also urged caution.
He said that while these types of brain scans are useful, “they are not widely available or perfect for predicting who will develop dementia.”
