AI Can Predict Dementia Years Before You Have Any Symptoms

A new artificial intelligence (AI) tool has proven to predict brain decline in asymptomatic patients, allowing for earlier treatment options.

Now, we all know AI has some concerning downfalls. However, when it comes to tracking potential health issues, it can be a game-changer.

Researchers at Mass General Brigham noticed the need for an AI tool that can flag shifts in brain waves, which can ultimately point to potential cognitive decline before the individual experiences symptoms. 

New AI Tool Can Predict Brain Decline Before Symptoms Appear

According to the press release, “The AI tool was developed using sleep study data from a group of women over 65, who were tracked for five years. The researchers identified subtle differences in brain wave patterns that predicted which participants would later be diagnosed with cognitive impairment.” 

“The AI tool successfully identified 85% of individuals who later developed cognitive impairment, with an overall accuracy of 77%,” the press release reads. This research was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. 

“What makes this research particularly significant is how we can identify those at risk using a simple overnight EEG recording,” said Dr. Shahab Haghayegh, lead author of the study and an instructor at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. “This could completely change how we approach dementia prevention.”

Basically, all you have to do is wear the EEG device while going about your daily living and sleeping, allowing it to track your risk for dementia. According to researchers, the findings might pave the way for earlier intervention.

Oftentimes, we don’t notice these symptoms until it’s too late. The sooner we can detect warning signs, the sooner we can address the condition and slow its progression.

“The new, FDA-approved treatments for Alzheimer’s disease are effective at the earlier stages of dementia, but not the more advanced stages,” said Dr. Kun Hu, senior author and physiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. “Interventions that are performed even earlier—before someone shows signs of cognitive decline—are likely to be even more effective.”

“Using novel sophisticated analyses, advanced information theory tools, and AI, we can detect subtle changes in brain wave patterns during sleep that signal future cognitive impairment, offering a window of opportunity for intervention years before symptoms appear,” Haghayegh added.