Quantitative EEG in Alzheimer´s diagnostics

Alzheimer`s disease (AD) is a progressive fatal brain disorder that entails severe social and economic consequences. At this time, there is no cure for AD and its cause and progression are not completely understood. A definite diagnosis can only be made after death. Clinical studies suggest the electroencephalogram (EEG) as diagnostic tool. The aim of the project "Quantitative EEG in Alzheimer`s Diagnostics" is to evaluate whether the changes that happen in the EEG of AD patients can provide valuable information for the diagnosis. The research questions aim at answering whether EEG can be used for 1) differentiating between the disease stages, 2) diagnosing AD severity, 3) prognosing the rate of cognitive decline and 4) providing supplementary information to other AD-related diagnostic tools. For this purpose, data from a Danish database and the Austrian Prospective Dementia Registry (PRODEM) , both complying with the highest ethics standards, will be used in this study that will take place at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). Glostrup Hospital (GH) and the Austrian Alzheimer Society (AAS) will act as research partners. Careful data processing will provide the basis for measuring the following changes in the EEG of AD patients that have been described in scientific literature: EEG signals become slower, they come less synchronous and less complex. A variety of measures for these three changes will be correlated with the physical and cognitive degenerations in AD and will provide insights into the course of the disease.. EEG offers several benefits to other clinical screening methods: it can be used on the skin surface, most hospitals are equipped with EEG recorders and recording an EEG is involved with low cost; for these reasons, it offers a promising tool for screening a large population for the risk of AD. As diagnostic supplement, it could provide more reliable medical assessments and, thus, enable adequate treatment delaying the cognitive decline. It could facilitate consultation-seeking, planning and decision-making for patients, caregivers and clinicians. There are very few studies with a comparable sample size and only a small number with repeated measurements on the same persons. The fact that the data are coming from two different countries ensures that there will be no national bias corrupting the analysis. The hereby initiated Austrian-Danish cooperation will yield an opportunity for expanding the AD- related research and, thus, improving AD diagnostics.

No additional funding sources recorded.