The virtual reality system "better than reference tests" for Alzheimer's

A new virtual reality system developed by a team of British scientists better detects early signs of Alzheimer's disease than the reference tests currently used by doctors, according to research.

Launched by a team from the University of Cambridge, this technology even made it possible to sort patients with the first signs of Alzheimer's disease from those with other cognitive disorders.

In addition to potentially revolutionizing the early clinical testing of the disease, the innovation could help develop surveillance and diagnostic tools that can be incorporated into everyday devices.

In the UK, more than 520,000 people suffer from dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease and this number is expected to increase with the aging of the population.

Dr. Dennis Chan, Principal Investigator, said, "We know that Alzheimer's disease affects the brain long before the symptoms become apparent.

"We have wanted to do this for years, but it is only now that virtual reality technology has evolved to the point that we can easily undertake this research on patients."

The Cambridge team collaborated with University College London to pursue the research of one of their professors, John O'Keefe, a 2014 Nobel Prize winner for the "navigation system" of the brain.

A key component of "internal satnav" is a part of the brain known as the entorhinal cortex, which is one of the first damaged regions in Alzheimer's disease.

Defects in the cortex could explain why the loss is one of the first symptoms of the disease, although such changes are difficult to detect with traditional clinical tests.

With the help of a virtual reality headset, the team submitted a navigation test to 45 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by having them walk in a simulated environment.

MCI may be an early indicator of Alzheimer's disease, although it may also be caused by anxiety and the normal aging process.

For example, in the study, cerebrospinal fluid samples were collected and badyzed for biomarkers of the underlying risk of Alzheimer's disease.

The researchers found that the 12 patients with biomarkers were the least successful among the subjects tested.

And, compared to a battery of tests currently used, the virtual reality system better differentiated those at high or low risk.

Dr. Chan said, "These findings suggest that a virtual reality navigation test could be more effective at identifying early Alzheimer's disease than tests we currently use in clinical and research studies. . "

It is hoped that the results, published in the journal Brain, could help clinical trials of future drugs aimed at slowing or even stopping the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

The same principles of navigation testing could also be used to diagnose and monitor Alzheimer's disease with everyday gadgets.

"We are at the point where everyday technologies can be used to detect the warning signs of the disease long before we become aware of it," he said.

"We live in a world where mobile devices are almost ubiquitous and application-based approaches therefore have the potential to diagnose Alzheimer's disease at a minimal additional cost and on a scale much greater than that of people living with Alzheimer's disease. badysis of the brain and other current diagnostic approaches. "