A fitness tracker for brain health: How a headband can identify early signs of Alzheimer’s disease in your sleep

Researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and Washington University in St. Louis have identified a way to assess brain activity in sleep that occurs in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease, typically many years prior to developing symptoms of dementia.

The digital biomarker uses electroencephalography (EEG) that can be recorded from simple headband devices to detect brain wave patterns related to memory reactivation in sleep, which are part of a system that processes memories in deep sleep. Study results published today in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association identify a relationship between EEG readings and levels of specific molecular changes indicative of pre-symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease. Additional findings further demonstrate that early stages of mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease can be detected…

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