A failing memory may not be the first mental problem to signal the onset of Alzheimer's disease, research suggests.
A University of Kansas study found a decline in other thinking and learning skills may be a warning sign years before diagnosis.
The spatial skills, such as reading a map or completing a jigsaw, seem to be the first to falter.
The Archives of Neurology study may help doctors to identify Alzheimer's at an earlier stage.
This is key as current drugs are more likely to have a significant impact if given when the disease is still in its early stages.
The latest study is based on 444 people, of whom 134 developed dementia.
In each case the participants underwent a battery of mental skills tests, and this allowed the researchers to construct computer models showing how and if these skills declined prior to a diagnosis of dementia.
The results showed that visuospatial skills - required to perceive the distance between objects - began to decline sharply three years before diagnosis.
An overall decline in mental abilities was seen in the following year.
But a sharp decline in memory skills was not registered until one year before clinical diagnosis.
{ 0 comments... Views All / Send Comment! }
Post a Comment