Sean Fenske, Editor-in-Chief03.14.24
A wrist-worn device may provide a way to detect early warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health used a wristwatch-like wearable to monitor 82 cognitively healthy older adults who were participating in a long-running study of aging. Using a PET scan, it was found several of the participants had a buildup of brain amyloid.
Comparing those with the buildup to those without, the researchers were able to reveal differences in activity between the two groups.
“We need to replicate these findings in larger studies, but it is interesting that we’ve now seen a similar difference between amyloid-positive and amyloid-negative older adults in two independent studies,” said Adam Spira, PhD, professor in the Department of Mental Health at the Bloomberg School.
“It’s conceivable that the higher afternoon activity we observed is a signal of ‘preclinical sundowning,’” Spira explained. “At the same time, it’s important to note that these findings represent averages among a small sample of older people over a short period of time. We can’t predict whether an individual will develop amyloid plaques based on the timing of their activity. So, it would be premature for older people to be concerned because their fitness trackers say they are particularly active in the afternoon, for example.”
The study was published online on February 21 in the journal SLEEP.
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health used a wristwatch-like wearable to monitor 82 cognitively healthy older adults who were participating in a long-running study of aging. Using a PET scan, it was found several of the participants had a buildup of brain amyloid.
Comparing those with the buildup to those without, the researchers were able to reveal differences in activity between the two groups.
“We need to replicate these findings in larger studies, but it is interesting that we’ve now seen a similar difference between amyloid-positive and amyloid-negative older adults in two independent studies,” said Adam Spira, PhD, professor in the Department of Mental Health at the Bloomberg School.
“It’s conceivable that the higher afternoon activity we observed is a signal of ‘preclinical sundowning,’” Spira explained. “At the same time, it’s important to note that these findings represent averages among a small sample of older people over a short period of time. We can’t predict whether an individual will develop amyloid plaques based on the timing of their activity. So, it would be premature for older people to be concerned because their fitness trackers say they are particularly active in the afternoon, for example.”
The study was published online on February 21 in the journal SLEEP.