Older adults who show subtle decline on standard memory and cognitive tests may be at increased risk for developing mild cognitive impairment, a precursor to dementia, according to the results of a new study by German researchers.
Meanwhile, unrelated research suggests that people living with early Alzheimer’s disease may have difficulty performing basic navigational tasks, such as turning when walking.
In the first study, published online in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, researchers from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Bonn sought to determine the relevance of minor neurologic deficits in people with subjective cognitive decline.
Subjective cognitive decline is a form of cognitive impairment and one of the earliest noticeable symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The study included 439 older adults with subjective cognitive decline, with an average age of 71. The researchers analyzed a series of tests designed to gauge their memory and cognition.
The investigators found that study participants who had minor testing deficits showed significantly more abnormal brain biomarker levels for Alzheimer’s disease, increased cognitive decline and a higher risk of progression to incident mild cognitive impairment.
“Our results now suggest that people with subjective cognitive decline who also have minor test deficits, or early signs of memory and thinking problems not yet reaching the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment, may be more likely to progress to memory disorders,” study author Michael Wagner, PhD, said in a news release. “Testing for these deficits in people with self-reported decline could help identify people at a higher risk for progressing to mild cognitive impairment.”
Meanwhile, new research from University College London suggests that navigational errors by older adults, such as difficulty making turns while walking, may be early indicators of Alzheimer’s disease. Findings of that study were published online in the journal Current Biology.
The investigators, led by Neil Burgess, PhD, and colleagues at the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, grouped participants into three categories: healthy younger participants, healthy elderly participants and people living with mild cognitive impairment. Participants then were asked to complete a series of real-world movements, such as walking on a path, while wearing virtual reality goggles.
The researchers found that people living with early Alzheimer’s consistently overestimated the turns on the route and showed increased variability in their sense of direction, whereas the healthy older adults and younger study participants did not experience the same issues.
The investigators said that their goal is to eventually develop practical navigation tests that can be integrated easily into clinical settings.
“Traditional navigation tests often have requirements that are challenging to meet in a clinical environment,” Andrea Castegnaro, PhD, of the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience said in a news release. “Our research focuses on specific aspects of navigation that are more adaptable to these constraints.”
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