On 16 February, researchers from the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging published an article on gait variability across neurodegenerative and cognitive disorders in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia.
The study that led to the results involved 500 older adults with various forms of cognitive impairments as well as a group of controls.
The team assessed participants gait as well as their cognitive performance. Following on, they identified four independent gait domains (rhythm, pace, variability and postural control), these were then compared to cognitive performance. Looking at the results from the statistical analyses, the team found that high gait variability correlated with lower cognitive performance and helped to differentiate between Alzheimer's disease and other forms of cognitive conditions.
The scientists therefore concluded that gait variability could be used as a marker of cognitive‐cortical dysfunction, which can help to identify Alzheimer's disease dementia.
https://alz-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/alz.12298