Canadian researchers say they may soon be able to easily identify adults who are on the path to Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, using a tool that works in a similar way to a pediatrician鈥檚 growth charts.
The tool, called the QuoCo (a play on the term 鈥渃ognitive quotient鈥�), allows doctors to test the memory or cognitive performance of any patient and then plot changes over time, to see if those changes fit within the normal range.
鈥淚t allows you to track the performance of an individual over time to see if that individual is following the normal cognitive decline associated with normal aging,鈥� neurologist Dr. Robert Laforce Jr. explained to CTV鈥檚 Your Morning Monday.
Dr. Laforce said he and his team at the Université Laval helped establish a range of what constitutes 鈥渘ormal cognitive decline鈥� by following 8,000 healthy individuals and tracking their performance using a well-established dementia screening tool called the MMSE, or Mini Mental State Examination.
They were then able to build a cognitive decline chart similar to the growth charts used in pediatrics. Physicians can use the tool to plot an older patient鈥檚 cognitive changes over time and determine if they are 鈥渇alling off鈥� the curve.
A new study of the QuoCo tool, published Monday in CMAJ (), found that it was 80 per cent accurate in correctly identifying those with dementia, and 89 per cent accurate in identifying those without it.
Dr. Laforce noted that the QuoCo looks at more than an individual鈥檚 MMSE test score. It also takes into consideration an individual鈥檚 age and education level, since research has shown that those with less education, for example, tend to have faster cognitive declines than those with more.
He also noted that the QuoCo would not be 鈥渢he only part of the equation鈥� in diagnosing dementia, which is why the average family member could not conduct the test on a loved one themselves.
鈥淭he interpretation of these screening tests would have to be done with great expertise,鈥� he said, which is why a physician is best suited to use the tool, since they can take a full clinical history, and conduct a physical examination to eliminate other possible causes for cognitive changes.
Although there is no cure for dementia and few medications that can slow the disease, Dr. Laforce believes that new treatments to delay cognitive decline are on the horizon.
鈥淲e鈥檙e on the verge of vaccines, for instance, for 'prodromal' Alzheimer鈥檚, or early stage Alzheimer鈥檚, that we expect results on in about a year,鈥� he said.
For that reason, he believes it鈥檚 important to create tools like QuoCo, to spot the earliest warning signs of the disease.
鈥淲hen brain damage is advanced -- when there鈥檚 irreversible brain damage -- there鈥檚 not much we can do. So early screening is the key,鈥� he said.
