Title:Handwriting Markers for the Onset of Alzheimer’s Disease
Volume: 20
Issue: 11
关键词:
阿尔茨海默病,认知障碍,精细运动技能,早期筛查,笔迹分析,定量分析。
摘要:
Introduction: Alzheimer's disease has an impact on handwriting (AD). Numerous researchers
reported that fact. Therefore, examining handwriting characteristics could be a useful
way to screen for AD. The aim of the article is to present the reliability and effectiveness of the
AD-HS tool.
Methods: Most of the existing studies examine either linguistic manifestations of writing or certain
motor functions. However, handwriting is a complex of cognitive and motor activities. Since
the influence of AD on handwriting is individual, it is important to analyze the complete set of
handwriting features. The AD-HS instrument is based on this principle. Validation of the AD-HS
instrument for revealing cognitive impairment in AD-diagnosed persons in comparison to the control
group. The study is based on the evaluation of free handwritten texts. AD-HS includes 40
handwriting and 2 linguistic features of handwritten texts. It is based on the standard protocol for
handwriting analysis. The cumulative evaluation of all features builds a quantitative AD-Indicator
(ADI) as a marker of possible AD conditions. The analyzed experiment includes 53 AD-diagnosed
persons and a control group of 192 handwriting specimens from the existing database.
Results: AD-HS shows a distinct difference in evaluated ADI for the participants (the mean value
equals 0.49) and the control group (the mean value equals 0.28).
Conclusion: The handwriting marker of AD could be an effective supplement instrument for earlier
screening. It is also useful when traditional biomarkers and neurological tests could not be applied.
AD-HS can accompany therapy as an indication of its effect on a person.