An EEG test can identify dementia risk five to seven years before progression to mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s dementia, new research suggests.
Using EEG data, which measures the brain’s electrical activity, from older adults with only subjective memory concerns, the longitudinal study found this non-invasive test can flag functional changes long before standard tools detect disease.
Researchers collected baseline resting EEG recordings from 88 older adults who had subjective cognitive impairment (self-reported decline without a clinical diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment, early memory problems or dementia).
The study was conducted by BrainScope, a commercial-stage neurotechnology company in Maryland, US, which applies artificial intelligence and computational neuroscience to brain electrical signals.
Participants then received annual clinical assessments and staging of cognitive decline. Over time, some progressed to mild cognitive impairment or dementia, while others remained cognitively normal.
Using BrainScope’s proprietary EEG-based biomarker platform, researchers identified distinct brain-activity patterns at the initial visit that accurately predicted future decline.
BrainScope’s EEG biomarker achieved an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.90, a measure of diagnostic accuracy, and performance was validated across independent international cohorts.
The findings suggest that with BrainScope’s signal processing and AI-enabled analytics, EEG could serve as a rapid, affordable and non-invasive assessment to identify Alzheimer’s-related brain dysfunction years before meaningful memory loss.
Early identification matters because by the time traditional imaging detects Alzheimer’s pathology, significant and often irreversible neurological damage may already have occurred.
Identifying risk earlier also fits a fast-evolving therapeutic landscape in which many disease-modifying therapies and prevention trials require people to be found years before conventional diagnosis.
Earlier awareness can help individuals and families pursue evidence-based lifestyle changes, proactive care planning and research participation, shifting care from reactive management to earlier intervention.
“The rapid evolution of Alzheimer’s therapeutics demands equally innovative biomarkers.” Howard Fillit, co-founder and chief science officer of the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, said.
“As the field moves towards more complex, combination therapy strategies and precision prevention, tools like BrainScope’s will play a critical role in early risk identification and enabling a tailored approach to treatment.” Fillit said.
Key funding for the biomarker’s development was provided by the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, whose early support BrainScope credits as instrumental in achieving this milestone.
The foundation has a longstanding record of advancing Alzheimer’s diagnostics, including early support for technologies such as the first amyloid PET scan and the first blood-based biomarker test for the disease.
“At BrainScope, our mission has always been to translate the brain’s electrical signals into clinically meaningful insights and build the platform that becomes the brain’s vital sign,” Matt Adams, chief executive of BrainScope, said.
“This publication in Scientific Reports validates years of research using EEG to detect functional brain changes in normal elderly with subjective cognitive complaints,” Leslie Prichep, chief scientific officer of BrainScope and first author of the study, said.
“The importance of identifying risk of future cognitive decline, long before structural damage occurs, can have significant impact on brain health in the elderly early enough to meaningfully change outcomes.”
BrainScope is expanding its AI-enabled EEG platform into new clinical indications, including neurodegenerative diseases and stroke.
