Understanding Daily Changes in Thinking Skills for Early Alzheimer's Detection
Intraindividual Cognitive Variability as an Early Marker of Alzheimer's Disease
This project explores how small, day-to-day changes in thinking abilities, measured by smartphone apps, could help us find early signs of Alzheimer's disease.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Pittsburgh, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11122186 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Alzheimer's disease often begins developing in the brain years before memory problems become obvious. Traditional memory tests might miss these very early changes because they only check your performance at one specific moment in a controlled setting. This project uses smartphone apps to check your thinking skills many times throughout the day, in your natural environment. By looking at how your thinking abilities vary from moment to moment, we hope to find subtle patterns that could be early indicators of Alzheimer's. This approach could help us identify people at risk much sooner, allowing for earlier prevention or treatment strategies.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People interested in understanding early signs of Alzheimer's disease, particularly those aged 65 and older, might be ideal candidates for future related studies.
Not a fit: Patients who already have advanced Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia may not directly benefit from this early detection approach.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to new smartphone-based tools that help identify Alzheimer's disease earlier than current methods, potentially allowing for timely interventions.
How similar studies have performed: While traditional tests struggle with early detection, the use of mobile health technology for continuous monitoring is a newer approach with growing interest in various health fields.
Where this research is happening
Pittsburgh, United States
- University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh — Pittsburgh, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Weinstein, Andrea — University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh
- Study coordinator: Weinstein, Andrea
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.