- Alzheimer’s disease affects thinking and brain function. It can lead to significant declines in independence and quality of life.
- Researchers are still seeking how to best detect Alzheimer’s disease.
- A recent study found that measuring specific brainwave patterns and their relationship during sleep may help early detect Alzheimer’s disease, even before symptoms are present.
Alzheimer’s disease is a condition that still has many components we don’t understand. Research on how to detect Alzheimer’s disease early is still ongoing.
A recent study looked at how certain brainwave patterns correlated with other indicators of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers found that a simple wearable device to measure the brain’s electrical activity effectively detected distinct patterns that may indicate Alzheimer’s disease.
The study was published in the journal
Researchers of the new study wanted to examine a method that may help with early detection of Alzheimer’s disease when there are none to minimal symptoms.
This study was cross-sectional and included 205 older adults. Researchers used data from a single-channel sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) to look at electrical signals in the brain. Participants had to wear the devices on their foreheads during sleep for at least three nights.
Study author Dr. Brice McConnell, PhD, assistant professor of neurology and Director of the Sleep Research Program at the University of Colorado Alzheimer’s and Cognition Center, offered some more explanation on the method they used:
“Our method focuses on detecting brainwave patterns that occur during memory processing functions in deep sleep and using these brainwaves to understand whether there are problems in the brain’s memory components.”
Researchers then looked at how the data from the EEG readings aligned with other…
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