A Simple Balance Test May Predict Cognitive Decline In Alzheimer's Disease
March 11, 2009
Adapted from IOS Press
A simple balance test may predict cognitive decline in Alzheimer's Disease, according to a study published in the March 2009 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.
This study was carried out in 16 university hospital departments of neurology, geriatrics or psychiatry in ten cities with 686 outpatients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. This population is representative of the Alzheimer’s disease population seen by clinicians in daily practice. Patients were evaluated by a geriatrician every six months for up to two years, and their degree of cognitive impairment was measured using the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). At the same time, a "one-leg balance" (OLB) test was given, where a participant was asked to stand on one leg for as long as possible. The OLB test was reported as abnormal when the participant was unable to stand on one leg for 5 seconds or more.
Senior Investigator Yves Rolland, Inserm and the University of Toulouse, France, states, "Our results suggested that an abnormal OLB is a marker of more advanced dementia (worst baseline characteristic) and an independent predictor of cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease. Our results reinforce in an Alzheimer’s disease population, the growing evidence suggesting a link between physical performances and cognitive decline. If these results are confirmed by other data, the OLB test could be adopted in clinical practice to identify Alzheimer’s patients at high risk of rapid cognitive decline."
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