Researchers from the University of Salamanca have developed a prototype of a device that would make it possible, after analysing the speech of an elderly person, to establish the probability of suffering from Alzheimer’s disease in the future.

After following this line of research for 6 years, Juan José García Meilán, from the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Salamanca, Francisco Martínez Sánchez from the University of Murcia and the rest of their team have managed to develop this device that in just five minutes can establish a diagnosis.

Detecting Alzheimer’s through the voice

The device developed by Martínez Sánchez and his collaborators (2016) bases its functioning on the analysis of the rhythm of language , a property that is negatively affected as Alzheimer’s disease develops.

Although the rhythmic patterns of language are of great importance in human communication (Rothermich, Schmidt-Kassow & Kotz, 2012), the differences between them in a healthy person and one who begins to develop this disease are impossible to perceive simply by listening.

Therefore, in order to apply this test, patients must read some sentences that are recorded by this device that, through some algorithms , analyzes the language properties and compares them with the typical parameters of Alzheimer’s disease.

The problematic diagnosis of Alzheimer’s

Currently, there is no test or diagnostic tool that can detect this disease with complete accuracy. There are, for example, clinical diagnostic criteria that allow us to affirm that the patient probably suffers from the disease once he or she fulfils a series of symptoms, such as that the disease has had a progressive onset or that the person suffers from serious memory problems .

This makes early diagnosis through clinical observation impossible, i.e. before the disease appears. Other tests such as the analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid are too invasive.

On the other hand, the neuroimaging techniques that can be applied for the detection of this disease are very expensive, so they cannot be tackled on a large scale by both the public and private health systems.

As for neuropsychological tests , these require a great deal of time to be applied (Laske et al., 2015). Furthermore, despite the characteristic symptoms, the disease cannot be 100% confirmed until the brain tissue is analysed after the patient’s death (National Institute on Aging, 2010).

The importance of the finding

In view of this situation, the development of this type of device is of vital importance. Firstly, it is a test that establishes a diagnosis in a short period of time, although it should not be forgotten that it must be combined with other types of evaluations.

The second advantage to be mentioned is that its use will be very intuitive , so that its use will be accessible to both clinicians and researchers.

Thirdly, it should be noted that the economic cost of implementing this test will be quite low.

Finally, the fact that it allows the probability of suffering from the disease to be detected before its symptoms appear is really important, since it would allow the establishment of therapies, both psychological and pharmacological, that focus on preventing the associated deterioration and therefore improve the quality of life of the affected people.

The incidence of this disease

Alzheimer’s disease carries with it a condition that, as it progresses and develops, makes even the person unable to live independently.

According to Alzheimer’s Disease International (2015) in its report on dementia , the number of people suffering from a dementia-type disease is expected to double every 20 years . In other words, while in 2015 approximately 46.8 million were affected by these diseases, by 2030 the number will rise to 74.8 million and by 2050 this figure will have increased to 130 million.

This organization catalogues these forecasts as those of an epidemic , although they state that they are mainly due to the aging of the population at a global level.

Although this increase in the number of cases will be accentuated by higher life expectancy, the report says there will be differences between regions, both globally and within countries. This is due to factors such as people’s access to the public health system , as this influences both treatment and detection of the disease. This is why this World Alzheimer’s Report calls on public authorities to include among their priorities both the prevention and the treatment of dementia.

The cognitive reserve

In view of these predictions, some researchers interested in this pathology have focused on how interventions such as physical activity, social interactions, dietary modification and staying mentally active affect its prevention. With regard to the latter, it is important to mention the concept of cognitive reserve .

This refers to the fact that if we exercise our intellectual capacity, our brain, due to its plasticity, will be able to adapt better to the damage it suffers, helping to cope with the aging process and preventing the appearance of dementias (Stern, 2002).

Therefore, detecting Alzheimer’s disease early will make it possible to propose therapies focused on prevention through stimulating the mind. These therapies, known as Cognitive Stimulation (CS), could be defined as a type of intervention that offers older people the enjoyment of activities that stimulate thought, memory and concentration, generally in a social context (Woods, Aguirre, Spector and Orrell, 2012).

This type of intervention has been shown to be effective in healthy elderly people (Tardif and Simard, 2011) in elderly people who have been hospitalized for a long period of time (Castel, Lluch, Ribas, Borràs and Moltó, 2015) and in people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, improving neuropsychiatric symptoms and their quality of life and that of their caregivers (Fukushima et al., 2015). It should not be forgotten that the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease would also make it possible to focus the treatments of this disease on the stage prior to the appearance of its symptoms.

Conclusions

Although this device is still only a prototype, its effectiveness and other features are quite encouraging .

This line of research, on the other hand, is a great example of the importance of investing in science because, although we do not see the results in the short term, knowledge about certain subjects will end up improving the quality of life sooner or later.

Bibliographic references:

  • Alzheimer’s Disease International. (2015). World Alzheimer Report 2015.
  • Castel, A., Lluch, C., Ribas, J., Borràs, L., & Moltó, E. (2015). Efectos de un programa de estimulación cognitiva sobre el bienestar psicológico en una muestra de pacientes hospitalizados en un hospital de cuidados de larga duración. Envejecimiento y salud mental. DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2015.1099033
  • Fukushima, R., Carmo, E., Pedroso, R., Micali, P., Donadelli, P., Fuzaro, G., … & Costa, J. (2016). Efectos de la estimulación cognitiva sobre los síntomas neuropsiquiátricos en ancianos con enfermedad de Alzheimer: Una revisión sistemática. Dementia & Neuropsychologia, 10(3), 178-184.
  • Laske, C., Sohrabi, H., Frost, S., López-de-Ipiña, K., Garrard, P., Buscema, M., … & O’Bryant, S. (2015). Herramientas diagnósticas innovadoras para la detección temprana de la enfermedad de Alzheimer. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 11(5), 561-578.
  • Martínez-Sánchez, F., Meilán, J., Vera-Ferrándiz, J., Carro, J., Pujante-Valverde, I., Ivanova, O., & Carcavilla, N. (2016). Alteraciones del ritmo del habla en personas hispanohablantes con enfermedad de Alzheimer. Envejecimiento, Neuropsicología y Cognición.
  • Instituto Nacional del Envejecimiento. (2010). La Enfermedad de Alzheimer.
  • Rothermich, K., Schmidt-Kassow, M., & Kotz, S. (2012). El ritmo te va a atrapar: el medidor regular facilita el procesamiento de la frase semántica. Neuropsicología, 50(2), 232-244.
  • Tardif, S., & Simard, M. (2011). Cognitive Stimulation Programs in Helathy Elderly: Una revisión. International Jounal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 2011.
  • Stern, Y. (2002). ¿Qué es la reserva cognitiva? Teoría y aplicación de investigación del concepto de reserva. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 8(3), 448-460.
  • Woods, B., Aguirre, E., Spector, A., & Orrell, M. (2012). Cognitive stimulation to improve cognitive functioning in people with dementia. Base de datos Cochrane de Revisiones Sistemáticas, 2.