Early detection of predictive cognitive impairments of Alzheimer's disease through the analysis of eye movement

• Grant number: 13/23135-9
• Support type: Regular Research Grants
• Duration: April 01, 2014 - September 30, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Psychiatry
• Principal researcher: Orestes Vicente Forlenza
• Grantee: Orestes Vicente Forlenza
• Home Institution: Instituto de Psiquiatria Doutor Antonio Carlos Pacheco e Silva (IPq). Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP (HCFMUSP). Secretaria da Saúde (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Background: The pathogenic process in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is present several years before the onset of clinical symptoms; therefore, diagnosis of AD should ideally be established at pre-dementia stages. New technologies based on the use of biomarkers (particularly CSF and neuroimaging) provide in vivo evidence of the pathogenic process in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, the clinical use of these technologies is limited by the high cost and/or requirement of invasive procedures (e.g., lumbar puncture), emphasizing the need for the development of markers based on non-invasive methods at a reasonable cost. The analysis of eye movement using eye-tracking (ET) devices may indicate cognitive and behavioral patterns in individuals with neuropsychiatric disorders. We hypothesize that patients with primary memory impairment have a specific pattern of eye movements that can be depicted by ET during neuropsychological testing. Objectives: (1) to describe the eye movement profile associated with cognitive deficits observed in patients with MCI and AD; (2) to determine eye movement changes related to episodic memory and learning impairments; (3) to determine the contribution of these parameters to identify cases of MCI at higher-risk for dementia. Methods: healthy older adults (controls) and patients with different degrees of cognitive impairment (mild probable AD and MCI) will be clinically and neuropsychologically assessed with our standard research protocol and submited to lumbar puncture for determination of CSF biomarkers and MRI scans, prior to assessment of eye movement. ET data will be analysed and cross-correlated with clinical, neuropsychological and biological variables. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

GONCALVES DE FREITAS PEREIRA, MARTA LUISA; DE ARRUDA CAMARGO, MARINA VON ZUBEN; RIBEIRO BELLAN, ARIELLA FORNACHARI; TAHIRA, ANA CAROLINA; DOS SANTOS, BERNARDO; DOS SANTOS, JESSICA; MACHADO-LIMA, ARIANE; NUNES, FATIMA L. S.; FORLENZA, ORESTES VICENTE. Visual Search Efficiency in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease: An Eye Movement Study. JOURNAL OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, v. 75, n. 1, p. 261-275, 2020. Web of Science Citations: 0.