Alzheimer's disease can be detected through voice

April 20, 2024

Researchers from the University of Salamanca have developed the prototype of a device that would allow, after analyzing the speech of an elderly person, establish the probability of suffering from Alzheimer's disease in the future.

After following this line of research for 6 years, Juan José García Meilán, from the Faculty of Psychology of the University of Salamanca, Francisco Martínez Sánchez from the University of Murcia and the rest of his team have managed to develop this device that in just Five minutes can establish a diagnosis.

Related article: "Alzheimer's: causes, symptoms, treatment and prevention"

Detecting Alzheimer's through voice

The apparatus developed by Martínez Sánchez and his collaborators (2016) bases its operation in the analysis of language rhythm , property that is affected in a negative way as Alzheimer's disease develops.

Although the rhythm patterns of language are of great importance in human communication (Rothermich, Schmidt-Kassow and Kotz, 2012), the differences between these in a healthy person and in one that begins to develop this disease are impossible. perceive simply by listening.

Therefore, to apply this test patients should read some phrases that are recorded by this device that, through algorithms , analyzes the properties of the language and compares them with the typical parameters of Alzheimer's.

The problematic diagnosis of Alzheimer's

Currently there is no diagnostic test or tool to detect this disease in a completely accurate manner. There are, for example, clinical diagnostic criteria that allow to affirm that the patient probably suffers from the disease once it has a series of symptoms, such as that it has had a progressive onset or that the person suffers from serious memory problems .

This makes an early diagnosis impossible through clinical observation, that is, before the disease appears. Other tests such as spinal brain fluid analysis are too invasive.

On the other hand, neuroimaging techniques that can be applied for the detection of this disease are very expensive, so they can not be addressed on a large scale by both the public health system and the private one.

Regarding the neuropsychological tests , these require a large amount of time to be applied (Laske et al., 2015). In addition, despite having characteristic symptoms, the disease can not be confirmed at 100% until the brain tissues are analyzed after the patient's death (National Institute on Aging, 2010).

Maybe you're interested: "The first 11 symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (and its explanation)"

The importance of the finding

Taking into account this situation, the development of this type of apparatus is of vital importance. In the first place, it is a test that establishes a diagnosis in a short period of time, although it should not be forgotten that it must be combined with other types of evaluations.

The second advantage to mention is that its use will be very intuitive , so that its use will be accessible to both clinicians and researchers.

Third, it should be noted that the economic cost of applying this test will be quite small.

Finally, the fact that it allows detecting the probability of suffering from the disease before your symptoms appear It is really important, since it would allow to establish therapies, both psychological and pharmacological, that focus on preventing the associated impairments and therefore improve the quality of life of the affected people.

The incidence of this disease

Alzheimer's disease involves a condition that, as it progresses and develops, even makes the person incapacitated to live independently.

As published by Alzheimer's Disease International (2015) in its report on dementia, every 20 years is expected to be multiplied by two the number of people who suffer from a dementia-type disease. That is, while in 2015 approximately 46.8 million were affected by these diseases, in 2030 the number will rise to 74.8 million and, in 2050, this number will have increased and will reach 130 million.

This organization catalog these forecasts as those of an epidemic , although they state that they are mainly due to the aging of the population worldwide.

Although this increase in the number of cases will be accentuated due to a longer life expectancy, according to the report, there will be differences between regions, both globally and in the same country.This is due to factors such as the access that people have to the public health system , since this influences both the treatment and the detection of the disease. Therefore, in this World Report on Alzheimer's, public authorities are entrusted to include prevention and treatment of dementia among their priorities.

The cognitive reserve

In view of these forecasts, some researchers interested in this pathology have focused on how it affects their prevention interventions such as the realization of physical activity, social interactions, diet modification and the fact of staying mentally active. Regarding the latter, it is important to mention the concept of cognitive reserve .

This makes reference to the fact that if we exercise our intellectual capacity, our brain, due to its plasticity, will be able to adapt better to the damages it suffers, helping to cope with the aging process and preventing the appearance of dementias (Stern, 2002) .

So, detect Alzheimer's disease early It will allow to propose therapies focused on prevention through the stimulation of the mind. These so-called Cognitive Stimulation (EC) therapies could be defined as a type of intervention that offers older people the enjoyment of activities that stimulate thought, memory and concentration, generally in a social context (Woods, Aguirre , Spector and Orrell, 2012).

This type of interventions have shown their efficacy in healthy elderly (Tardif and Simard, 2011) in elderly people hospitalized for a long period (Castel, Lluch, Ribas, Borràs and Moltó, 2015) and in people suffering from Alzheimer's disease, improving neuropsychiatric symptoms and their quality of life and that of their patients. caregivers (Fukushima et al., 2015). It should not be forgotten that the early detection of Alzheimer's would also allow the treatment of this disease to focus on the stage prior to the onset of its symptoms.

Conclusions

Even though this device is still only a prototype, its efficiency and other characteristics are quite encouraging .

This line of research, on the other hand, is a great example of the importance of investing in science because, although we do not see short-term results, knowledge about certain subjects will end up having an impact on the quality of life sooner or later .

Bibliographic references:

Alzheimer's Disease International. (2015). World Alzheimer Report 2015.

Castel, A., Lluch, C., Ribas, J., Borràs, L., & Moltó, E. (2015). Effects of a cognitive stimulation program on psychological well-being in a sample of elderly long-term care hospital inpatients. Aging & Mental Health. DOI: 10.1080 / 13607863.2015.1099033

Fukushima, R., Carmo, E., Pedroso, R., Micali, P., Donadelli, P., Fuzaro, G., ... & Costa, J. (2016). Effects of cognitive stimulation on neuropsychiatric symptoms in elderly with Alzheimer's disease: A systematic review. Dementia & Neuropsychology, 10 (3), 178-184.

Laske, C., Sohrabi, H., Frost, S., Lopez-de-Ipiña, K., Garrard, P., Buscema, M., ... & O'Bryant, S. (2015). Innovative diagnostic tools for early detection of Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 11 (5), 561-578.

Martínez-Sánchez, F., Meilán, J., Vera-Ferrándiz, J., Carro, J., Pujante-Valverde, I., Ivanova, O., & Carcavilla, N. (2016). Speech rhythm alterations in Spanish-speaking individuals with Alzheimer's disease. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition.

National Institute on Aging. (2010). Alzheimer's disease.
Rothermich, K., Schmidt-Kassow, M., & Kotz, S. (2012). Rhythm's gonna get you: regular meter facilitates semantic sentence processing. Neuropsychology, 50 (2), 232-244.

Tardif, S., & Simard, M. (2011). Cognitive Stimulation Programs in Helathy Elderly: A Review. International Jounal of Alzheimer's Disease, 2011.

Stern, Y. (2002). What is cognitive reserve? Theory and research application of the reserve concept. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 8 (3), 448-460.

Woods, B., Aguirre, E., Spector, A., & Orrell, M. (2012). Cognitive stimulation to improve cognitive functioning in people with dementia. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2.