"Home-based Tools Can Help Assess Dementia Risk and Progression"
Clinical trials to develop new therapeutic and preventive treatments for Alzheimer's disease are costly, complicated and often preclude persons most at risk of developing the degenerative neurological condition: Older individuals with less mobility and significant medical issues, both making it more difficult for them to participate in traditional, clinic-based assessments with trained personnel. A paper published Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 600 persons participated in the home-based assessment study; all had been previously diagnosed as either possessing normal cognitive abilities or suffering from Mild Cognitive Impairment, a condition that often precedes AD. "We wanted to know if we could remotely assess cognition and other outcomes using various types of technology," said Mary Sano, PhD, director of The Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. “We needed to know this because prevention of dementia studies are long and assessing people in their home may reduce the burden of traveling to medical centers for study participants."
— Mary Sano, PhD, Professor, Psychiatry, Associate Dean, Clinical Research, Director, Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai