Researchers discover subtle change in the way you walk that could be a sign of dementia

Very subtle changes to the way you walk could be the earliest signs of dementia, an innovative study has suggested.

Researchers from the Florida Atlantic University found small differences in the way people walk along a curved line between those with early stages of dementia, and those without. 

Walking in a curve is a complex activity which requires greater cognitive and motor skills, compared to walking along a straight line.

Specifically, participants with the earliest stage of dementia, called mild cognitive impairment, walked slower and took smaller steps compared to healthy participants.

They also had less symmetry between their legs, and less regularity in the length of their steps. 

They were also slower to change direction.

Roughly half of people with mild cognitive impairment will go on to develop Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia, which affects more than six million Americans.

Researchers from the Florida Atlantic University found that getting patients to walk along a curved line rather than a straight line was a better way to detect mild cognitive impairment

Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, usually presents as a reduction in brain function with a slow decline in an individual's ability to carry out daily activities such as shopping for groceries and writing.

One famous sufferer is Wendy Williams, American media personality and writer, who was diagnosed with early-onset dementia last month.

Alzheimer's is usually diagnosed using a number of tests including physical and neurological examination, cognitive testing, blood work and brain imaging.

Mild cognitive impairment, meanwhile, is typically diagnosed using tests of memory and mental status.

However these can be time-consuming and costly.

In the study, researchers used a depth camera which can track 25 joints of body movement to record participants' gait, or manner of walking, while they performed two walking tests (straight vs curve).

American media personality and writer Wendy Williams was recently diagnosed with dementia

Two groups took part - in one, participants showed signs of mild cognitive impairment and the other was a healthy control group.

Signals from the body joints were processed to find 50 markers of walking manner for each test, which were compared between the two groups.

The researchers found that curve walking resulted in greater challenges for the cognitively impaired group and was more effective for  detecting mild cognitive impairment, compared to straight walking.

Some 31 out of 50 gait markers (62 percent) were greater for the MCI group than healthy control older adults when the walking tests changed from straight walking to curve walking, and 13 markers showed significant differences between the two study groups. 

'The MCI group exhibited a markedly lower average step length and speed during curve walking, coupled with higher variability across most micro-gait markers,' said senior study author Dr Behnaz Ghoraani, an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Florida Atlantic University.

'The MCI group showed diminished symmetry and regularity in both step and stride lengths for curved walking. They also required extended double support time in various areas, especially while changing directions, which resulted in reduced step speed,' he added.

The researchers concluded that gait markers could be a 'promising potential as early indicators of cognitive impairment.'