Dutch researchers have developed a tool that personalizes predictions of cognitive decline to improve patient care.
Research team from the Amsterdam University Medical Center Makes major advances in the study of Alzheimer’s disease by developing an innovative prediction model.
search, Published in the prestigious journal Neuroscienceuses large-scale data to transform how we predict and monitor symptom progression.
The study was based on health examinations and cognitive analyses of 961 individuals from the Amsterdam Dementia Cohort, a lifelong research cohort.
The model promises to be a valuable tool for doctors, enabling more precise and personalized treatments in the future.
Prediction Model Details
The Amsterdam Dementia Group followed participants with early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease over the years.
The group was divided into 310 people with mild cognitive impairment and 651 with mild dementia. With an average age of 65, about half of the participants were women.
Using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), a widely used test to assess cognitive function, the researchers mapped the progression of symptoms.
The study found that over five years, participants with mild cognitive impairment showed a drop in average scores from 26.4 to 21. Those with mild dementia showed an even more pronounced decline, going from 22.4 to 7.8.
New Model Impact
The new model provides more accurate predictions of symptom progression and provides the basis for more personalized, early care.
Using this approach, interventions and treatments can be modified based on individual predictions, improving the preparation and adaptation of patients and caregivers.
This in turn leads to improved quality of life and long-term disease management, representing a major advance in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.