ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) – According to the World Health Organization, over 10 million people are diagnosed with dementia each year, worldwide. As Ivanhoe reports, new research using a simple recording of your voice and a special computer algorithm could help early detection of dementia.
Neurological tests to determine a person’s cognitive ability can take a lot of time because clinicians have to transcribe, review, and analyze every response in vivid detail.
But now, researchers at Boston University have developed a new tool that could automate the process. The machine-learning computer model can detect cognitive impairment from audio recordings of neuropsychological tests without you even having to go to the doctor.
“Why have dementia if we can reduce those things we know are modifiable that are strongly associated with the risk of dementia?” says James E. Galvin, MD, MPH, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
By using automated online speech recognition tools like, “hey, google!”, and a machine learning technique called “Natural Language Processing” it helps computers understand your recorded text allowing the model to access the likelihood and severity of a person’s cognitive impairment.
Faster and earlier detection of Alzheimer’s could drive larger clinical trials that focus on people in early stages of the disease and potentially enable clinical interventions that slow cognitive decline.
Doctor Galvin says, “The idea is that instead of waiting for disease to happen, we try to prevent it from happening first.”
The model was not only able to accurately distinguish between healthy people and those with dementia, but it also detected differences between those with mild cognitive impairment and dementia. As it turns out, the quality of the recordings and how people spoke were less important than the content of what they were actually saying.
The research team trained their model using audio recordings from more than one thousand neuropsychological interviews and still needs to validate its results against other sources of data. But, the findings suggest their tool could support clinicians in diagnosing cognitive impairment using audio recordings, including those from virtual or telehealth visits.
Contributors to this news report include: Leslie Hudson, Producer; Roque Correa, Editor.
Sources:
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dementia
https://www.bu.edu/eng/2022/07/07/could-a-computer-diagnose-alzheimers-disease-and-dementia/
USING SPEECH TO DETECT DEMENTIA
REPORT #3008
BACKGROUND: The general term for loss of memory, language, problem-solving and other thinking abilities is known as dementia. Dementia can be severe enough that it interferes with daily life. Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia. Dementia is an overall term that covers a wide range of specific medical conditions. Disorders grouped under this general term are caused by abnormal brain changes that trigger a decline in thinking skills, also known as cognitive abilities, which also affect behavior, feelings, and relationships. Many conditions are progressive, which means that the signs of dementia start out slowly and gradually get worse. There’s not a specific test to determine if someone has dementia. It is diagnosed based on a careful medical history, a physical examination, laboratory tests, and the characteristic changes in thinking, day-to-day function and behavior associated with each type.
(Source: https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-dementia)
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS: Dementia affects the brain’s nerve cells, which destroys the brain’s ability to communicate with its various areas. It can also result from blocked blood flow to the brain, depriving it of needed oxygen and nutrients, and without these the brain tissue dies. Some dementias aren’t reversible and will worsen over time, while others are due to other medical conditions that also affect the brain. Another group of health issues can result in dementia-like symptoms. Many of these conditions are treatable, and the dementia symptoms are reversible. Early symptoms of dementia include forgetting recent events or information; repeating comments or questions over a very short period; misplacing commonly used items or placing them in unusual spots; not knowing the season, year or month; having difficulty coming up with the right words; and experiencing a change in mood, behavior or interests.
(Source: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9170-dementia)
BLOOD VESSEL BREAKTHROUGH FOR ALZHEIMER’S: According to research out of the University of Manchester, a breakthrough in the understanding of Alzheimer’s disease has revealed changes to blood vessels in the brain, potentially presenting a path for developing new drugs to help fight the disease. Researchers found that a smaller version of the protein, Amyloid-β 1-40 (Aβ 1-40), builds up in the walls of the small arteries and reduces blood flow to the brain. This narrowing was found to be caused by Aβ 1-40 switching off a protein called BK in cells lining blood vessels. When functioning normally, BK sends a signal which causes arteries to widen. The researchers plan to investigate which part of Aβ 1-40 blocks the BK protein, so drugs to stop this from happening can be developed and tested. Adam Greenstein, MD, lead researcher and Clinical Senior Lecturer in Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Manchester said, “To date, over 500 drugs have been trialed as a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. All of them have targeted the nerves in the brain and none of them have been successful. By showing exactly how Alzheimer’s disease affects the small blood vessels, we have opened the door to new avenues of research to find an effective treatment.”
* For More Information, Contact: James Galvin, MD
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