A study published in the journal Current Biology showed that people with Alzheimer’s disease may have difficulty finding their way into space very early on.
there Alzheimer’s disease that it Neurodegenerative pathology Who will touch Ben? 800,000 and one million people in France. The earlier it’s detected, doctors say, the more effective treatments will be to slow its progression. A study in English published in early October 2023 in the magazine Current biology Highlights A Symptoms may be ignored as possible A warning sign of the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. The authors chose 31 Healthy young people36 Elderly people In good health and 43 patients With mild cognitive impairment (Called “MCI” in the study). Patients with mild cognitive impairment were divided into three subgroups based on the presence or absence of MCI Biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease In their cerebrospinal fluid: a group with a positive biomarker (MCI+), a group with a negative biomarker (MCI-) and a group with unknown biomarker status.
With help Virtual reality glassesThey asked each participant to follow a Accurate triangle path. On the way out, they were guided By cones Numbered. On the way back, they guided themselves, Without features Environmental. Statistical analyzes were performed to compare performance between groups and the paths performed.
Ultimately, the researchers found that Participants with a positive biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease king Difficulty finding his way in space. For them, the integrity of the path to follow was weak, and they were less able to determine their position and status The direction to take to return to the starting point.
Difficulties worsened at the turning level
Their paths were special Not accurate in corners From the road. Concretely, they tended to do so Overestimation of turns when turning to change direction. These were not difficulties It is not produced in healthy elderly participants And presenting mild cognitive impairment, which convinced researchers that The problem was specific to Alzheimer’s disease. “Our results open a A new method for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease by focusing on specific navigational errors.”Commented Andrea Castenaro, senior deputy author of the study and researcher at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at UCL. Before setting it “The conclusions drawn should be treated with caution until they are validated by a larger study.”
