Gait in Mild Alzheimer’s Disease: Feasibility of Multi-Center Measurement in the Clinic and Home with Body-Worn Sensors: A Pilot Study¹

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Mc Ardle, Ríona^a | Morris, Rosie^a | Hickey, Aodhán^a | Del Din, Silvia^a | Koychev, Ivan^b | Gunn, Roger N.^{c; d} | Lawson, Jennifer^b | Zamboni, Giovanna^b | Ridha, Basil^e | Sahakian, Barbara J.^f | Rowe, James B.^g | Thomas, Alan^a | Zetterberg, Henrik^{h; i; j; k} | MacKay, Clare^b | Lovestone, Simon^b | Rochester, Lynn^{a; *} | on behalf of the Deep and Frequent Phenotyping study team ()

Affiliations: [a] Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK | [b] UK Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, UK | [c] MANOVA Ltd, London, UK | [d] Department of Medicine, Imperial College, UK | [e] NIHR Queen Square Dementia Biomedical Research Unit, University College London, UK | [f] Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, UK | [g] Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, UK and MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK | [h] Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, Sweden | [i] Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden | [j] Department of Molecular Neuroscience, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, UK | [k] UK Dementia Research Institute, London, UK

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Professor Lynn Rochester, Clinical Ageing Research Unit, Campus for Ageing and Vitality, Nunsmoor Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE4 5PL, UK. Tel.: +44 01912081291; E-mail: lynn.rochester@ncl.ac.uk.

Note: [1] This article received a correction notice (Erratum) post publication with DOI 10.3233/JAD-199009, available at http://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-199009.

Abstract: Gait is emerging as a potential diagnostic tool for cognitive decline. The ‘Deep and Frequent Phenotyping for Experimental Medicine in Dementia Study’ (D&FP) is a multicenter feasibility study embedded in the United Kingdom Dementia Platform designed to determine participant acceptability and feasibility of extensive and repeated phenotyping to determine the optimal combination of biomarkers to detect disease progression and identify early risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Gait is included as a clinical biomarker. The tools to quantify gait in the clinic and home, and suitability for multi-center application have not been examined. Six centers from the National Institute for Health Research Translational Research Collaboration in Dementia initiative recruited 20 individuals with early onset AD. Participants wore a single wearable (tri-axial accelerometer) and completed both clinic-based and free-living gait assessment. A series of macro (behavioral) and micro (spatiotemporal) characteristics were derived from the resultant data using previously validated algorithms. Results indicate good participant acceptability, and potential for use of body-worn sensors in both the clinic and the home. Recommendations for future studies have been provided. Gait has been demonstrated to be a feasible and suitable measure, and future research should examine its suitability as a biomarker in AD.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, cognition, free-living, gait, phenotyping, wearables

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-171116

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 63, no. 1, pp. 331-341, 2018