Women who have Difficulty Driving a Car Are at Risk for Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease is associated with loss of memory, perception and other aspects of cognition; while debility in complex movements is observed at a much later stage. Researchers at York University in Canada found a link between performance in such tasks and a communication problem between different brain regions that promote simultaneous thinking and moving. They revealed that women who find it difficult to think and move at the same time, an ability required to perform everyday tasks such as driving a car, are at a higher risk of contracting Alzheimer's disease.

The study group comprised of 30 female participants of whom 10 were in their mid-20s, while the rest were in their 50s or older, with half of them at high risk for Alzheimer's disease. Kara Hawkins, lead researcher of the study, said, "We scanned the brains of the participants, aiming to see if the impaired cognitive-motor performance in the high risk group was related to brain alterations over and above standard aging changes."