Scientists link one's difficulty in navigating as early sign of Alzheimer's disease
A recent study unveiled a rather alarming truth about Alzheimer's disease, confirming that people who have difficulty remembering how to get around and navigate in their younger years are likely to be suffering from it.
The study, published on Tuesday in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease observed 16 carefully selected individuals who showed symptoms of the early stages of the disease, comparing them to 13 others who were labeled as normal, but with signs of what is called as preclinical Alzheimer's in fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. There were also 42 other people who joined the study as subjects, although they're completely healthy.
The participants were reportedly examined and evaluated, particularly testing their abilities to navigate a virtual maze using a computer. The maze came with several interconnected hallways as well as 20 landmarks and four wallpaper patterns. There were two specific skills assessed: first one is figuring out how the participants learned and followed a route that has been pre-set; second, it was evaluated how well they actually could produce some sort of map of the maze in their brains.
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Those participants who had preclinical Alzheimer's didn't have issues learning the pre-set route. However, they did encounter issues when it comes to creating that "mental map" of the maze. But it is worthy of mention that the same group did overcome the map-learning problem after several tests later on.
In reality, there already is a consensus belief in the medical community that problems with the ability to navigate and map a location are present in people suffering from early stages of Alzheimer's disease. However, this is the first time that a study has been conducted, focusing on normal people who are likely heading towards developing the disease. Therefore, this should be considered a breakthrough in the hope of learning more about it.
