Mobile game picks out players who are genetically at risk of Alzheimer's

A game you play on your phone could detect your risk of Alzheimer's, research suggests.

The app Sea Hero Quest, which has been downloaded by more than 4.3million people worldwide, has players navigate their way through mazes of islands and icebergs.

The free game require players to 'sail' a ship to find treasured objects, while remembering the routes they have taken. 

A reduced ability to navigate could be an early warning sign of dementia.

When the app was put to the test, a study revealed it distinguishes players who are genetically at-risk of Alzheimer's. 

Researchers hope this will 'shed light' on the disease to help create 'personalised treatments'. 

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The app Sea Hero Quest (pictured), which has been downloaded by more than 4.3million people worldwide, could detect your risk of Alzheimer's, research suggests

The app Sea Hero Quest (pictured), which has been downloaded by more than 4.3million people worldwide, could detect your risk of Alzheimer's, research suggests 

The game was created by researchers at University College London and the University of East Anglia (UEA), alongside Alzheimer's Research UK, the telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom and the developer Glitchers. 

The most recent study into its effectiveness was led by Dr Michael Hornberger, a professor of applied dementia research at UEA. 

Some 850,000 people have dementia in the UK, with Alzheimer's being the most common type of the disease, Alzheimer's Society statistics show. 

And more than five million adults in the US are living with the disease, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. 

'Dementia will affect 135million people worldwide by 2050,' Professor Hornberger said. 'We need to identify people earlier to reduce their risk of developing dementia in the future.

'Current diagnosis of dementia is strongly based on memory symptoms, which we know now are occurring when the disease is quite advanced. 

'Instead, emerging evidence shows that subtle spatial navigation and awareness deficits can precede memory symptoms by many years.

'Our current findings show we can reliably detect such subtle navigation changes in at-genetic-risk of Alzheimer's disease healthy people without any problem symptoms or complaints.'

HOW TO DETECT ALZHEIMER'S

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory, thinking skills and the ability to perform simple tasks.

It is the cause of 60 percent to 70 percent of cases of dementia.

The majority of people with Alzheimer's are age 65 and older.

More than five million Americans have Alzheimer’s.

It is unknown what causes Alzheimer's. Those who have the APOE gene are more likely to develop late-onset Alzheimer's.

 Signs and symptoms:

Difficulty remembering newly learned information Disorientation Mood and behavioral changes Suspicion about family, friends and professional caregivers More serious memory loss Difficulty with speaking, swallowing and walking

Stages of Alzheimer's:

Mild Alzheimer's (early-stage) - A person may be able to function independently but is having memory lapses Moderate Alzheimer's (middle-stage) - Typically the longest stage, the person may confuse words, get frustrated or angry, or have sudden behavioral changes Severe Alzheimer's disease (late-stage) - In the final stage, individuals lose the ability to respond to their

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