Dementia can be spotted by making a simple check, a neurologist has revealed. Dr. Adnan Husein has taken to social media to share his insight into the memory loss illness. Dementia is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the UK, says Alzheimer’s Research UK.
Dementia now accounts for more than one in ten of all deaths in the UK. Despite this, almost 40% of UK adults don’t think that dementia is a cause of death. Dr Husein has shared a social media video demonstrating “the quickest test for dementia,” which involves three simple hand motions.
The test is known as the Luria Test or Fist-Edge-Palm Test. Patients are tasked with making three gestures with their hands.
First, they make a fist with one hand, placing it in the palm of the second hand.
Next, they open the hand, placing the pinky finger side down on their opposite palm, like a karate chop.
Then, they turn that hand facing down, patting their open palm of one hand on the other.
The doctor says these motions test different parts of the brain, reports the New York Post.
He says: “For some people, they can’t do the movement smoothly.
He adds: “They sometimes perseverate on the same movement again and again, or they miss the sequence.”
Research shows that over 50% of people with Alzheimer’s disease struggle with the test.
Dementia UK says dementia is an umbrella term for a range of progressive conditions that affect the brain.
It says each type of dementia stops a person’s brain cells (neurones) working properly in specific areas, affecting their ability to remember, think and speak.
Doctors typically use the word ‘‘dementia’’ to describe common symptoms – such as memory loss, confusion, and problems with speech and understanding – that get worse over time.
Dementia can affect a person at any age but it’s more common in people over the age of 65.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
