Alzheimer's disease often evolves from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) — a small decline in memory and reasoning that is not serious enough to interfere with daily activities, but that is noticeable to the person who develops the condition.

In fact, according to some studies, 46% of people with an MCI diagnosis go on to develop dementia within 3 years. By comparison, only 3% of adults of the same age experience Alzheimer's in the same time span.

However, MCI does not always develop into full blown dementia. It often remains stable and sometimes the symptoms disappear completely with the person reverting to a normal, healthy cognition.

Experts have divided MCI into two forms: amnesic (aMCI) and nonamnesic (naMCI). The former describes impairment that predominantly affects memory, whereas the latter affects other cognitive skills.

Having aMCI raises the risk of Alzheimer's significantly more than naMCI. Detecting Alzheimer's as early as possible improves a person's brain health and may reduce their symptoms, especially if a reversible form of MCI is the cause.

For these reasons, devising an accurate method of diagnosing the various subtypes of MCI is critical.

Researchers led by Thom Wilcockson, from the School of Sports, Exercise, and Health Sciences at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom, set out to use eye tracking technology to distinguish between the two subtypes of MCI.

Wilcockson and his colleagues published the results of this first-of-its-kind study in the journal Aging.

'Eye tracking as useful diagnostic biomarker'
Previous research has found that people with Alzheimer's show signs of eye movement impairment before any cognitive symptoms appear.

The inability to direct the gaze in the appropriate direction often accompanies the very early stages of Alzheimer's, and standard eye tracking tests can reveal this sign of dementia.

In the new study, Wilcockson and team set out to use these eye tracking tests to detect MCI subtypes.

The research involved 42 participants with a diagnosis of aMCI, 47 people with naMCI, 68 participants whom doctors had diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and 92 age-matched controls who were cognitively healthy.

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