GETTING lost could be the first sign of Alzheimer’s disease, scientists say.
University College London researchers said future patients may struggle with navigation as young as their 40s, up to 25 years before they show any symptoms.
GettyAlzheimer’s could cause problems with navigation up to 25 years before other symptoms show up, researchers say[/caption]
They tested homing skills with virtual reality headsets and found people at the highest risk of dementia performed worst.
Study author Dr Coco Newton, from the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, said: “Knowing this will hopefully help people to get a more timely and accurate diagnosis.”
Catching the disease early could be particularly important if anti-Alzheimer’s drugs lecanemab and donanemab are approved in the UK, as they’re most effective at clearing toxic amyloid clumps in the brain during earlier stages of the disease.
But with Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency expected to decide on whether to approve the drugs for the UK imminently, scientists have warned that these revolutionary medicines could actually shrink patients’ brains and be harmful.
UCL researchers hope to develop a diagnostic tool for the NHS with their findings to help spot Alzheimer’s.
In the UK, over 900,000 people live with dementia, most of which is Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia.
People over 65, and those with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and depression, are most at risk.
Researchers recruited 100 people aged 43 to 65 with no Alzheimer’s symptoms who were at risk of the disease due to family history, genetics or lifestyle.
Wearing VR headsets, participants had to walk across a field to three cones, which disappeared when they reached them.
The headsets then removed visual cues in the landscape and participants had to walk back to where they remembered the first cone being.
Those at highest risk of Alzheimer’s struggled most, but had no problem with other cognitive tests, findings published to the Alzheimer’s and Dementia journal showed.
This suggested that navigation issues may show up years or decades before other Alzheimer’s symptoms, researchers said.
Men also performed worse than women in the navigation test.
Dr Newton said: “It highlights the importance of taking gender into account for both diagnosis and future treatment.”
Dr Richard Oakley, associate director of research and innovation at Alzheimer’s Society said: “One in three people born today will go on to develop dementia.
“Very early symptoms can be subtle and difficult to detect, but problems with navigation are thought to be some of the first changes in Alzheimer’s disease.
“More work is needed to develop this technology, but it will be exciting to see how this research may help people living with dementia in future.”
Other early warning signs of Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s will affect everyone differently, but there are some common early symptoms to look out for in your loved ones.
According to Alzheimer’s Society, they include:
Memory problems – often the first noticeable sign, which might affect recollections of recent conversations or events, appointments, as well as familiar journeys and places
Problems with thinking and reasoning – this might mean difficulty concentrating, following a conversation and planning, and confusion about what time of day it is
Changes in mood – they may become anxious, easily annoyed, frightened or sad, or lose interest in hobbies
Changes in perception of distance, which might make parking the car or using the stairs hard, finding certain noises upsetting