Typically, Alzheimer’s disease begin to suspect, when a person has problems with memory. However, this is not the initial stage, and a running state. To get ahead of the disease, scientists have developed a game that serves as a test of abilities to spatial orientation. Initially, these tests were conducted with volunteers on the streets of real cities, but it quickly became clear that to play on your tablet safer.
The game is called “Sea Hero Quest”, it was developed by a team of specialists from the German Deutsche Telekom, the French research group CNRS, British University College London and University of East Anglia. From 2016 it played for about 4.3 million people, that gives you a good relevance evaluation. And it is that with a probability of more than 50 % of those who are poor cope with the game, have the gene APOE4, which is associated with the disease.
The player’s task – to pave the way for the boat through a system of mazes made of ice, buoys and Islands. Must visit control points and thus to spend as little time as possible — that is, to move not at random, but by the shortest route. The difference may be small, but those who have already have symptoms of Alzheimer’s, unable to choose a winning strategy. This pattern is repeatedly tested on volunteers and patients, with the use of laboratory tests.
Work on the game was a clear proof of the hypothesis: changes in the human brain under the influence of Alzheimer’s disease starts long before, even during the decades before obvious symptoms appear. And such a simple game, like “Sea Hero Quest” give a chance to detect it if not promptly, then at least with plenty of time. But the treatment is most important.
Source AlphaGalileo