Dual gait testing as early predictor of dementia
Dr. Manuel Montero-Odasso, a Lawson scientist, geriatrician at St. Joseph's Health Care London, and associate professor in the Division of Geriatric Medicine at Western University's Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, is leading the "Gait and Brain Study." His team is assessing up to 150 seniors with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a slight decline of memory and other mental functions which is considered a pre-dementia syndrome, in order to detect an early predictor of cognitive and mobility decline and progression to dementia. "Finding methods to detect dementia early is vital to our ability to slow or halt the progression of the disease," says Dr. Montero-Odasso. The study, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, followed participants for six years and included bi-annual visits. Researchers asked participants to walk while simultaneously performing a cognitively demanding task, such as counting backwards or naming animals. Those...