Early and accurate diagnosis of dementia is still difficult in many places around the world.
Right now, doctors use expensive brain scans like MRI and PET to check for signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
These tests show the brain’s shape and activity, but they cost a lot of money, are hard to access in many clinics, and cannot be used often for regular checkups. Now, scientists in the UK have tested a new method that may help change that.
This method is called broadband near-infrared spectroscopy, or bNIRS. It uses light to look at how the brain works. The tool is small, easy to carry, and doesn’t hurt or require needles or injections.
What makes bNIRS different from older types of brain light scans is that it can measure more than just blood flow. It also looks at how brain cells make energy. This is important because in Alzheimer’s disease, the brain slowly loses the ability to make and use energy.
The key part of this energy process is an enzyme called cytochrome c oxidase. This enzyme helps the brain turn food into energy. When someone has Alzheimer’s, this enzyme doesn’t work as well. The bNIRS tool can detect changes in this enzyme, giving scientists a better idea of how healthy the brain is.
In this small study, scientists tested the new device on 19 older adults. They split them into three groups. One group had no memory problems. One group had mild memory issues. And the last group had early Alzheimer’s disease.
Each person looked at a simple black-and-white checkerboard on a screen while the device measured changes in blood and brain activity.
They found that the brain’s response to the checkerboard looked different for each group. For example, how strong the signals were and how long they took to peak showed clear patterns based on a person’s memory level.
They also found that when they included the data about cytochrome c oxidase, the connection between brain activity and thinking ability became much stronger. Without this data, the tool was less accurate.
This means that looking at how the brain uses energy can give important clues about brain health. It might help catch Alzheimer’s earlier and track how fast it is getting worse. The researchers also said that this is the first time this kind of energy activity has been measured in living people with Alzheimer’s using a small, wearable device.
The results are still early, and the study only included a small number of people. But the scientists believe that with more research, this device could become part of regular care.
It could be used in clinics or even at home to test brain function more often and more easily. This could help doctors understand how well a treatment is working or see signs of brain problems before memory gets worse.
In short, this study shows a new, cheaper, and easier way to check how the brain is working. It may give people and doctors a better tool to catch Alzheimer’s early and manage it better.
The study is published in the Journal of Biomedical Optics.
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