Phone App Could Help Spot Main Cause Of Early-Onset Dementia, Study Suggests

A smartphone app could help detect the leading cause of early-onset dementia in people who are at high risk of developing it, data suggests.

- Linda Geddes

Scientists have demonstrated that cognitive tests done via a smartphone app are at least as sensitive at detecting early signs of frontotemporal dementia in people with a genetic predisposition to the condition as medical evaluations performed in clinics.

Frontotemporal dementia is a neurological disorder that often manifests in midlife, where the part of the brain responsible for skills such as the capacity to plan ahead and prioritise tasks, filter distractions and control impulses shrinks as the disease progresses.