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Can a novel test for diagnosing Alzheimer’s be developed for the Indonesian population?
Fasihah Irfani Fitri, M.D.
Universitas Sumatera Utara
Medan, Indonesia
Background
Studies have shown that the brain changes observed in Alzheimer’s and other dementias can occur decades before clinical symptoms and memory loss arise. This has led to the development of screening methods that detect early cognitive changes in dementia including an individual’s ability to learn and memorize new information. However, cognitive tests that can be used for early detection of dementia often do not consider the cultural and language needs of underrepresented populations.
As the population of older adults begins to rise in Indonesia, there is a need to develop better screening methods that could be used to identify individuals with dementia living in this diverse region. Dr. Fasihah Fitri proposes a pilot study that will develop and implement a new screening tool that can be used to identify early signs of dementia in older adults in Indonesia.
Research Plan
Dr. Fitri and colleagues plan to first develop and validate a cognitive screening tool. They will do this by modifying currently used screening tests to include universal and culturally appropriate images as well as language that does not have translation bias. Next, the team will administer the new screening test to older individuals in both urban and rural areas in Indonesia to assess the feasibility of this method across a diverse range of individuals.
Impact
If successful, this study could offer a novel screening tool for potentially improving and establishing consistent early diagnosis of dementia in older individuals across Indonesia.
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