Unique test can predict if you have dementia up to nine years earlier
An international research team led by Queen Mary University of London, UK, has developed a new method for predicting dementia with an over 80 per cent accuracy and up to nine years before diagnosis.
The new method provides a more accurate way to predict dementia than memory tests or measurements of brain shrinkage, two commonly used methods for diagnosing dementia.
Published in Nature Mental Health, the researchers developed the predictive test by analysing functional MRI (fMRI) scans to detect changes in the brain’s ‘default mode network’ (DMN). The DMN connects regions of the brain to perform specific cognitive functions and is the first neural network to be affected by Alzheimer’s disease.
Study co-author, Associate Professor Adeel Razi from Melbourne's Monash University’s School of Psychological Sciences and the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, said previous attempts at curing Alzheimer's disease have failed because clinical trials often focus on advanced stages of the disease, where the damage to brain cells is irreversible.
“Our new method for predicting who will develop dementia well in advance will be a game changer, enabling the development of therapies earlier in the disease process,” Associate Professor Razi said.
"By leveraging large datasets and advanced fMRI techniques, we can now identify individuals at high risk for dementia years before symptoms appear, paving the way for proactive and personalised healthcare strategies.
"This innovative approach bridges a critical gap in dementia diagnosis, offering a non-invasive biomarker that could transform early detection and treatment, ultimately improving patient outcomes.”
The study, led by Professor Charles Marshall from Queen Mary University of London, used fMRI scans from over 1,100 volunteers from UK Biobank, a large-scale biomedical database and research resource containing genetic and health information from half a million UK participants, to estimate the effective connectivity between 10 regions of the brain that constitute the default mode network.
Read the full paper in Nature Mental Health: “Early detection of dementia with default-mode network effective connectivity.”
