Clinical highlights – July 2024
We are thrilled to inform you about the clinical benefits of eye tracking. Every month, we keep you updated on the latest news shared by the scientific community.
The current newsletter will emphasize the latest research about Alzheimer’s disease and dementia and the view of clinical experts on the relevance of eye-tracking for these diseases.
Enjoy the reading!
The neuroClues® Team
Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects memory, cognitive function, and behavior. It is characterized by the accumulation of abnormal protein deposits in the brain, leading to the gradual decline of a person’s ability to think, remember, and carry out daily activities.
Alzheimer’s disease progresses through three stages:
Preclinical AD: Early brain changes with no symptoms, involving amyloid beta and tau protein buildup.
Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI): Noticeable cognitive decline without significant impact on daily life. It can be:
- Amnestic MCI (aMCI): Memory issues, often progressing to Alzheimer’s dementia.
- Nonamnestic MCI (naMCI): Issues with thinking and decision-making, often leading to other dementias.
Alzheimer’s Disease Dementia (ADD): Continuous cognitive decline affecting memory, language, and other cognitive functions.
Did you know that the prevalence of all-cause dementia is expected to rise from 50 million people in 2010 to 153 million by 2050 worldwide?
Eye movement analysis offers a high clinical utility while being supported by the most scientific evidence.
More information can be found on our science webpage.
Eye Tracking has significant potential as a biomarker for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease
Studies have shown that saccadic eye movements can differentiate between mild cognitive impairment (MCI), Alzheimer’s disease dementia (ADD), and healthy aging.
Saccadic eye movements are rapid, involuntary gaze shifts. There are two types:
- Prosaccades: reflexive movements in response to a visual stimulus
- Antisaccades: voluntary movements requiring suppression of the reflexive response and initiating a saccade in the opposite direction
Significant differences between MCI and ADD were observed using the antisaccade task (AST):
- Error Rates: ADD patients made more errors than MCI patients, indicating greater difficulty in cognitive control.
- Latency: ADD patients had longer latencies, reflecting more impaired cognitive processes.
These findings show that the AST is more sensitive to cognitive decline in ADD, highlighting greater impairments in executive function, attention, and cognitive control in ADD patients.
Eye tracking (ET) technology is becoming popular due to the development of accurate, affordable, moveable and easy- to-use eye trackers
(…)
Thus, ET may offer a method for monitoring of preclinical, MCI, and ADD stages in a way that is potentially sensitive to the cognitive disease process
Opwonya et al., 2022
Why is early diagnosis a game changer?
As treatments are getting discovered and approved, it becomes essential to administer these at the appropriate stage of the disease. NeuroClues aims to facilitate this by providing quantitative and objectiveinsights for the clinician to evaluate disease progression.
Such non-invasive insights could be invaluable for pharmaceutical clinical treatments, providing additional outcome measures for evaluating treatment efficacy.
Eye Movements can offer valuable clues in identifying the specific type of dementia
Dementia encompasses a range of cognitive impairments, with Alzheimer’s disease being the most common form. However, other types exist, each with unique characteristics and challenges. Recognizing these differences is essential for accurate diagnosis and personalized care, though diagnosis can be complicated due to symptom similarities with Alzheimer’s.
Beyond Alzheimer’s, other prevalent types of dementia include:
- Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) (link to publication)
- Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD)
- Semantic variant primary progressive aphasia (svPPA)(link to publication)
Recent research indicates that analyzing eye movement patterns can help distinguish between these conditions, and more generally, to differentiate across various dementia syndromes such as:
- Fronto-Temporal Dementia (FTD)
- Parkinson’s Disease Dementia (PDD)
- Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB)(link to publication)
Incorporating eye-tracking exams into diagnostic protocols shows promise in enhancing diagnostic precision and effectiveness.
Why is increased diagnostic certainty crucial for dementia?
A misdiagnosis of dementia can lead to the prescription of medications or therapies that are not tailored to the individual’s specific needs, potentially causing adverse side effects or worsening the symptoms.
Hear what the experts have to say!
Dr Lejla Koric
Neurologist,
APHM La Timone (Marseille)
A few months ago, Dr Lejla Koric presented during our clinical get-together meeting how eye tracking led to reconsider the diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment and eventually led to a diagnosis of Posterior Cortical Atrophy (PCA).
The talks are in French but subtitles are available in English.
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