- About 20% of the world’s population has mild cognitive impairment (MCI), 10%–15% of whom will develop dementia
- There is currently no cure for MCI, but early diagnosis and intervention can help slow progression.
- A new study has developed a way to use gait analysis to test for early cognitive decline.
- The researchers found that difficulty walking a curved path was associated with early cognitive decline.
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People with mild cognitive impairment are at an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or other types of dementia.
Researchers estimate that 10%–15% of people with mild cognitive impairment develop dementia. For this reason, scientists are working hard to develop new ways of diagnosing mild cognitive impairment.
Although there is currently no cure for mild cognitive impairment, early treatment can help manage symptoms and slow down its progression.
In a new study recently published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease Reports, researchers from Florida Atlantic University analyzed
For this study, researchers used gait analysis to look for differences between healthy older adults and older adults with mild cognitive impairment.
They recruited 55 older adults — 25 with mild cognitive impairment and 30 without.
Senior author Dr. Behnaz Ghoraani, associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and co-director of the Center for SMART Health at Florida Atlantic University, said that gait analysis can significantly complement cognitive assessments in detecting and monitoring cognitive decline by providing an objective, noninvasive measure of an individual’s motor abilities that are often affected early in the course of cognitive impairment.
“Cognitive assessments focus on evaluating various aspects…
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