Breakthrough 'daydream' test could predict dementia 9 years in advance
An early trial showed this test to be 80 percent accurate.
Dr Hilary lists the early symptoms of dementia
Dementia is a syndrome, or a group of symptoms, associated with the progressive decline of the brain. This can lead to problems with memory, changes in behaviour and even mobility issues.
It is thought almost one million Britons are currently living with the condition and this figure is expected to rise due to our ageing population.
Currently there is no way to know whether someone will develop dementia until symptoms begin to show.
However, a new breakthrough in dementia research has found it could be possible to detect the condition in people up to nine years before they would typically be diagnosed.
After reviewing more than 1,000 MRI scans, researchers say their test is more than 80 percent accurate, according to Medical News Today.
But what makes this test so unusual is the fact it measures signs in your brain while you are daydreaming.
As part of the trial, a team from the Queen Mary University of London analysed 1,111 functional MRIs of people without dementia and ran it through a machine learning algorithm.
They then cross-referenced this model with those who went on to later develop a neurodegenerative disease.
This analysis is that it focuses on when your brain is in "default mode” - the the abstract mode of free-thinking often present in daydreaming and relaxed mental states, which the scientists say can present "early signs" that you will develop dementia.
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While in "default mode", those in the study that went on to develop dementia had "disconnects" between 10 key regions in their brain while in this relaxed state.
An AI tool that can analyse MRI scans was then able to spot with an 80 percent certainty, if someone is likely to develop dementia, GloucestershireLive reports.
However, it also worked as a short-term diagnostic tool, predicting with accuracy those who would develop dementia within a two-year window.
Professor Charles Marshall, clinical senior lecturer in dementia in the Preventive Neurology Unit at Queen Mary, explained: “Some brain areas show reduced activity, but others show increased activity, probably as a compensatory response. We trained a machine learning tool to recognize patterns that were ‘dementia-like.’”
While the study focused on the most common forms of dementia, others in the field have reacted with interest to how it could apply to other similar diseases.
Dr Claire Sexton told Medical News Today: “A number of studies have found that Alzheimer’s is associated with decreased functional connectivity within the default mode network”
But although the test is a good sign for the future of medical diagnosis, it cannot help prevent the condition from developing.
If someone was diagnosed with a common form of dementia nine years before they would typically be diagnosed, there would be very little a doctor could do to prevent that dementia from occurring.
Neurologist Clifford Segil said: “If these tests pan out to have some clinical utility in the future, these patients would be followed by more frequent 3T structural MRI scans to determine if there were anatomical changes that would correlate with their memory loss.
“Unfortunately, in the year 2024, even if we could target patients with early onset dementia, we do not have any neuroprotective medications to be used at this time.”
However, this diagnostic test could help researchers identify people that could assist in preventative medical trials for future dementia medications.
Early symptoms of dementia
The study also found that social isolation, as well as these patterns that could be spotted in people while they were daydreaming, had a strong correlation with the onset of dementia-related illnesses, reinforcing a growing body of evidence.
Other signs that can indicate dementia include:
- Depression
- Memory loss that affects day-to-day abilities
- Difficulty performing familiar tasks
- Problems with language
- Disorientation to time and place
- Impaired judgement
- Problems with abstract thinking
- Misplacing things
- Changes in mood and behaviour
- Changes of personality
- Loss of initiative.
If you or someone you know displays signs of dementia you should speak to a GP.