A clue about your risk for dementia may be in the palm of your hand.
More than 10 million people around the world are diagnosed with dementia each year, with early-onset dementia striking people in their 50s and 60s.
But a quick and simple screening tool may give people a better idea of the state of their cognitive functioning — and you can do it at home without any equipment.
While dementia is often associated with memory loss, confusion and trouble focusing, it can also impair motor skills, making everyday tasks more difficult.
To check how well the frontal lobe is working, neurologist Dr. Adnan Husein shared a social media video demonstrating “the quickest test for dementia,” which involves three simple hand motions.
Known as the Luria Test or Fist-Edge-Palm Test, patients are tasking with making three gestures with their hands.
First, they make a fist with one hang, placing it in the palm of the second hand. They then open the hand, placing the pinky side down on their opposite palm, like a karate chop.
Finally, they turn that hand facing down, patting their open palm of one hand on the other.
According to Husein, the motions test different parts of the brain, specifically, “motor function, executive function and sequencing.”
“For some people, they can’t do the movement smoothly,” he explained in the video. “They sometimes perseverate on the same movement again and again, or they miss the sequence.”
And studies have shown that over 50% of people with Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of dementia, struggle with the test.
Those with different types of dementia also have difficulties completing the seemingly simple task, with Husein explaining that “almost 70%” of patients with frontal temporal dementia have trouble.
While the results of the test don’t serve as a diagnosis for dementia — there is no single test that does that — it can tell whether someone may be having trouble cognitively and should see a specialist.
Healthcare providers can then use a series of screening tools to evaluate memory, attention, language and problem-solving skills.
Tests like the SAGE test (Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination) allow patients to test themselves for early cognitive impairment with questions involving counting, drawing, remembering and identifying images.
More tests are also being developed to determine the risk of dementia, such as blood tests that detect the p-tau217 protein linked to amyloid plaques and tau tangles, two hallmark signs of Alzheimer’s, well before symptoms appear.
Others, like the cardiac troponin test, may be able to detect dementia risk up to 25 years before a diagnosis.
Blood tests are an up-and-coming method for identifying Alzheimer’s. The US Food and Drug Administration recently approved new blood testing for people 55 and older experiencing symptoms like memory loss.
Early detection is key for improving quality of life, expanding treatment options and enabling better life planning.
