Change in walking speed could signal risk of cognitive impairment

[Alzheimer's Society]

Slow walking pace or a change in stride could indicate a decline in cognitive function, according to a group of new research studies

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[nmintueo]

Related article:

Footprints to Cognitive Decline and Alzheimer’s Are Seen in Gait
By PAM BELLUCK
Published: July 16, 2012

The way people walk appears to speak volumes about the way they think, so much so that changes in an older person’s gait appear to be an early indicator of cognitive impairment, including Alzheimer’s disease.

... “You can probably just watch them walk down the hall in your office and look for people who are starting to show deterioration in their gait and have no other explanation for it,” said William Thies, the chief medical and scientific officer for the Alzheimer’s Association. “If gait begins to deteriorate, we begin to have a conversation about how is your memory.”

... “People who are focused on cognition largely never watch people move,” Dr. Studenski said. “The tests are all done sitting down. But damage to the wiring is an important shared problem of difficulty with thinking and difficulty with moving.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/17/he...n-in-gait.html


Walking speed could be early indicator of Mild Cognitive Impairment
http://forum.alzheimers.org.uk/showt...ive-impairment