75% of dementia cases go undiagnosed, scientists develop novel tool to help

As many as 90 per cent of people suffering from dementia are never diagnosed in some countries, finds a new report by Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI). Globally, almost 75 per cent of dementia cases go undiagnosed largely due to stigma and lack of awareness.

With more than 55 million living with the illness worldwide and 41 million being unaware, low diagnosis rates of dementia have always been a problem but the new figures reveal the sheer scale of the crisis.

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Experts say people who don’t receive a diagnosis face added stress, confusion and are left vulnerable to the effects of their condition.

Apart from stigma, the high cost of tests makes them inaccessible to many communities. Looking to combat this, researchers have developed a two-minute computer test that could enable Alzheimer’s disease to be diagnosed up to five years earlier than by current methods.

Alzheimer’s is the underlying cause of approximately 60% of the cases of dementia.

Publishing the research in the journal BRAIN, the team says the Fastball EEG test could help detect the illness in early stages where behavioural performance deficits are not yet evident.