Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a progressive brain disease that can eventually make its victims forget everything they once knew. Beyond its consequences, what makes AD fearsome is perfectly defined by the National Institute On Ageing (NIA), which stated, ‘Scientists don't yet fully understand what causes AD in most people.’
While several risk factors genetic abnormalities, age, and lifestyle have been isolated as reasons for AD, experts have found that the importance of these risk factors also differs in each individual. Every day there is a new study that underscores early signs of AD, which for now, is the only effective way to manage AD timely. Another study that has now joined this long list, was conducted by researchers from the University College London Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, which isolated navigational error to be a possible sign of early Alzheimer’s.
Speaking to the team of OnlyMyHealth, Dr Pankaj Agarwal, Senior Consultant Neurologist and Head, Department of Neurology, Global Hospitals, Parel, Mumbai, said, “Alzheimer's disease commonly affects older adults as it typically begins after the age of 65. However, early-onset Alzheimer's can start even in one's 40s or 50s”
Difficulty Navigating: A Sign Of Alzheimer’s
The study that has been published in ‘Current Biology,’ grouped the participants into three categories- healthy younger participants, healthy elderly participants, and patients with mild cognitive impairment. The participants were then prompted to walk an outbound route guided by numbered cones and had to return to their starting position without navigation. The task was further modified by certain environmental conditions to assess the participants’ behaviour and navigational abilities under different conditions.
The research concluded that people with early-onset Alzheimer’s consistently missed the turns on the unguided route, and had a variable sense of direction. In contrast, this navigational impairment was not observed in healthy older participants who had mild cognitive disabilities and did not exhibit signs of AD.
The joint first author of the study, Dr Andrea Castegnaro, UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, said, “Our findings offer a new avenue for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease by focusing on specific navigational errors. However, we know that more work is needed to confirm these early findings.”
This UCL study is another chink in the armour of this elusive neurological disease, providing yet another avenue to catch AD early on before its rears its complete ugly head. The significance of this study is established in the shocking statistics provided by Alzheimer’s Disease International, which stated, ‘Someone in the world develops dementia every 3 seconds.’ The organisation shared that over 55 million people are living with AD-induced dementia globally, and this number will reach 78 million in 2030 and 139 million in 2050. To ease this magnanimous burden, more such studies are important to alleviate the prevalence of AD and possibly find a cure or better management tips.