Sleep test for dementia

[corybroo]

Noninvasive sleep test may help diagnose and predict dementia in older adults

 investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center have discovered and validated a marker of dementia that may help clinicians identify patients who have the condition or are at risk of developing it

the Brain Age Index (BAI) [is] a model that relies on artificial intelligence and a large set of sleep data to estimate the difference between a person's chronological age and the biological age of their brain when computed through electrical measurements (with an electroencephalogram, or EEG) during sleep. A higher BAI signifies deviation from normal brain aging, which could reflect the presence and severity of dementia.

[You may be able to try this at home. 😉  CB]

sleep EEG tests are increasingly accessible in non-sleep laboratory environments, using inexpensive technologies such as headbands and dry EEG electrodes.

BAI values rose across the groups as cognitive impairment increased, and patients with dementia had an average value of about four years older than those without dementia.

 

Personal note:  One reason this may be a better way to test was my experience in an assessment exam last week.  When asked to identify what named objects had in common, I failed when given “eyes” and “ears” because I answered sensory organs. I was told the right answer was body parts.  I guess I’m losing it.  🤪

 

[mccoy]

20 hours ago, corybroo said:

Personal note:  One reason this may be a better way to test was my experience in an assessment exam last week.  When asked to identify what named objects had in common, I failed when given “eyes” and “ears” because I answered sensory organs. I was told the right answer was body parts.  I guess I’m losing it.

MMmmm..., it seems more like an example of multiple valid answers some of which not contemplated in the protocol, hence discarded. As we all know, tests have their limitations.