Florey Dementia Index: This online tool predicts age of onset for early Alzheimer’s disease

A new online tool has been able to predict what age older adults will get Alzheimer’s. And it may give people the chance to plan their dementia care while they are still able to.

A simple digital health tool developed by Australian researchers could soon help predict the age of onset for early Alzheimer’s disease in older adults.

New research led by The Florey found it was possible to pinpoint when memory decline would start “within a few years”.

This was done by analysing a person’s answers in the online survey and their age.

The digital health tool then uses mathematical modelling to examine patterns in the responses to predict at what age mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer’s disease will begin.

Clinical trials are next, with the hope the Florey Dementia Index (FDI) could become a universal screening tool that can be used by doctors.

It comes as leading dementia researchers predict 2025 will be the year of exciting developments in the diagnosis and treatment of the disease that affects around 472,000 Australians.

The raft of breakthroughs on the horizon include blood tests to diagnose the disease sooner, drugs to slow its progress and even a potential treatment to “gobble up” plaque-causing amyloid-beta in the brain.

Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia and is characterised by the accumulation of sticky amyloid-beta and tangled tau proteins in the brain which are thought to cause cognitive decline.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. The new digial tool will allow older adults and clinicians to make informed decisions about dementia care.

This latest research, published Thursday in the journal JAMA Network Open, was led by Dr Yijun (Nicholas) Pan from The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health.

He said it was important to validate the results of the FDI tool as it would allow older adults and clinicians to make informed decisions about dementia care.

The team analysed data from more than 1665 Australians who were part of the 18-year Australian Image and Biomarkers Study of Aging led by The Florey.

“All the data we collected was longitudinal and the participants to begin with, some were healthy volunteers with no clinical symptoms of dementia,” Dr Pan said. “During the study we followed not only their clinical condition, but their cognition as well.”

He said this allowed clinicians and neuropsychologists to track when the patients developed mal-cognitive or early impairment symptoms and Alzheimer’s dementia.

Dr Yijun (Nicholas) Pan from The Florey said the tool could enable older adults to plan their dementia care while they are still capable of doing so. Image: Supplied.

The team, that included researchers from the University of Melbourne and CSIRO, also looked at data from more than 2029 patients in America.

“We found that even in a different research setting, the performance of our model was still very good,” Dr Pan said.

He said a tool that accurately predicts age at onset could enable older adults to plan their dementia care while they are still capable of doing so, and also help guide clinicians in the use of drugs by prioritising patients with risk of more rapid cognitive decline for treatment.

“For those older adults interested, it can collect and record data that can be put into the tool for prediction,” he said.

The digital health tool analyses responses from an online survey to accurately pinpoint when memory decline will start.

Dr Pan said Alzheimer’s was an irreversible and progressive brain disorder characterised by cognitive deterioration.

He said the disease progressed from mild cognitive impairment to AD which meant the need for support increased, ultimately rendering patients dependent on around-the-clock care.

The team wrote that the FDI relies solely on data collected using non-invasive methods, making the model potentially more applicable and accessible while maintaining good predictive performance.

Originally published as Florey Dementia Index: This online tool predicts age of onset for early Alzheimer’s disease