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New Study Says Memory And Thinking Tests Could Signal Alzheimer's Up To 18 Years Early

Memory Test Could Hint At Alzheimer's 18 Years In Advance
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Huff/Post 50 Editor, The Huffington Post

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Time is of the essence when detecting Alzheimer's disease and now a new study provides hope in this area by suggesting that the memory-robbing disease could be detected up to 18 years in advance.

The findings, published this week in the medical journal Neurology, found that older adults who performed poorly on cognition tests were almost 10 times as likely to develop the disease within the next 18 years as those with higher scores.

The Rush University Medical Center study looked at a sample of 2,215 seniors in the Chicago area with an average age of 73. For 18 years, they were given memory and thinking tests every three years. By the end of the study, 23 percent of the black participants and 17 percent of the white participants were diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

The researchers discovered that those who developed the disease scored lower across on the tests throughout the study, worsening with each successive testing. In fact, for every unit their score dropped on the tests, their risk for Alzheimer's increased by 85 percent.

"The changes in thinking and memory that precede obvious symptoms of Alzheimer's disease begin decades before," study author Kumar B. Rajan said in a release. "While we cannot currently detect such changes in individuals at risk, we were able to observe them among a group of individuals who eventually developed dementia due to Alzheimer's." The findings are important as the disease has no cure, but early detection is key.

Much research has tried to find clues that will help discover the disease before the telltale symptoms appear. One study looked at proteins in spinal fluid in an effort to detect the disease up to five years earlier. Another study used blood samples from patients to try and detect it up to three years in advance.

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Before You Go

Marilu Henner's Memory Makeover Tips
Your 21st Birthday(01 of07)
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People often tell me the day they were born to test my memory, and after telling them the day of the week, I love to turn the tables and ask them about their 21st birthday. The context of a memory helps fill in details that may, at first, be a little hazy. When you recall the day of the week an event took place, everything else starts to make more sense. Even though my mind has automatically stored that my 21st birthday was on a Friday, yours doesn't have to. Find the day of the week of your 21st birthday by Googling the date. Just knowing how long you had to wait for a weekend or how quickly you were back at school or work after your night of partying will help unlock details that you didn't remember were in there. (credit:Alamy)
The First Time You Heard Your Favorite Song(02 of07)
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Music is one of the easiest ways to remember something. It can put us back in a physical or mental space faster than almost any other trigger. Furthermore, any song you can call your favorite is probably loaded with memories. Maybe your first listen jumps right into your head, but if it doesn't, find the song on YouTube and let yourself be transported back to the first time that song graced your soon-to-be in love ears (or your soon-to-be-dancing feet!) (credit:Alamy)
A Family Wedding(03 of07)
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Weddings are usually memorable occasions in our lives, and they appeal to our love of linear thinking. It starts with getting ready, followed by the ceremony, the reception, and then, perhaps, the after party. I call this horizontal memory because it moves along a swath of horizontal time and sequences events in an easy-to-visualize timeline. However, we can also remember a wedding in a vertical manner, unlocking more information as we go deeper and deeper into one particular moment. The more you think about actually being there, the more information will come to you. You might also get a lot out of remembering in a mushrooming way, where the wedding opens you up to a whole sea of connected memories, including those that occurred months later and months before. Both this method and the final one, sporadic remembering (completely non-connected events that spring to mind), are more free associative than horizontal or vertical thinking, but they can be especially useful for seeing the big picture of a certain time in your life. (credit:Alamy)
A First Date(04 of07)
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I know from teaching memory classes for years that everyone has a dominant sense that helps you record, retain, and retrieve memories. Which one is yours? Sight, sound, touch, taste or smell? When trying to recall a first date with someone, play to your strengths and use your dominant sense to trigger the memories of that date. (How did they look, what did they say, how did they feel, what did you eat, or how did they smell?) By activating your dominant sense, you may not only be able to bask in the glow of a long forgotten moment, you may also be able to look at it under a harsh light that will help you notice a red flag you should have seen the first time around. (credit:Alamy)
Your Doctor's Phone Number(05 of07)
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One thing that amazes people, even more than my ability to recall dates and events, is how many phone numbers I hold in my mind. This is especially freaky when I haven't seen somebody for a decade or two. There are many techniques out there for remembering strings of numbers, but here's how I do it, and I think it's the most personal method out there. Each one of us automatically knows several combinations of numbers that we can relate to at a glance (a birthday, anniversary, etc). When you have a phone number to remember, break it into two-, three-, or four-digit pieces that are already significant to you, and it'll be much easier. You don't need to make up images to remember the number, because it is all coming from things you already know. (credit:Alamy)
Your Favorite Day(06 of07)
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This one you obviously remember, otherwise you wouldn't think of it as your favorite day. But how well do you remember it? Really dive into the details of what made this day so special? Was it the people? Some activity you love to do? What you were wearing, reading or even eating? Whatever gets you back there most vividly is probably something I call your primary memory Track - the lens through which you can most easily access your past (e.g. travel, sports, clothing, relationships, etc.) Everyone has something they remember especially well, and knowing your Track will help take you back! (credit:Alamy)
What You Ate For Dinner Last Sunday(07 of07)
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People often say to me, "No way can I remember a few years ago. I can't even remember what I ate for dinner last week!" Using the suggestions from panels 1-6, prompt your memory by applying them to last Sunday's dinner. Use the date, music, the four types of memory retrieval, your dominant sense, a significant number and your primary memory Track to get the ball rolling on what you did and, eventually, what you ate last Sunday. If you still cannot remember, try paying attention this Sunday, so that next week at this time, you will remember! Memory takes practice, and like anything else, practice makes perfect! (credit:Alamy)
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