A new tool to quantify motor performance in aging people with and without neurodegeneration.

Neurodegenerative disorders have a major impact on the daily lives of patients,
since these disorders make the execution of complex tasks virtually impossible.
As a result the quality of life in people suffering from neurodegenerative
disorders degrades rapidly; they become uable to care for themselves and are
increasingly dependent from relatives van healthy care.
Due to the aging populations in Western-Europe there is a strong increase in
the prevalence of neurodegenerative disorders. Alzheimer's Disease (AD), is the
best known neurodegenerative disorder, followed by Parkinson's Disease (PD).
But other forms of dementia such as Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB), vascular
dementia (VaD) and several forms of frontal lobe degeneration (FTD, SD and
PNFA) are increasingly prevalent.
Accurate clinical diagnosis of AD and PD is difficult. Current diagnostic
methods involve a combination of neuropsychological tests, imaging data,
biomarker data en interviews with patients and care-givers. Making a diagnosis
based on these methods of often only possible when the disease has already
progressed. Early clinical symptoms are often only established retrospectively.
An early and accurate diagnosis of AD and/or PD is very valuable. Although
there is currently no cure for neurodegenerative diseases, medication is
available that can help to alleviate the symptoms.
In the absence of other early stage markers, a reliable tool that quantifies i
nliving subjects changes in behavior dure to the underlying pathogenic process
at an early stage of the disease would be a major advance.

The main goal of the study is to develop and validate a device that provides an
objective measure of degradation of motor performance in elderly people. The
device will assist to diagnose neurodegenerative disorders in the elderly at an
early stage. In addition we aim to build a database on motor performance that
can be used as a risk assessment tool to indicate if aging people are still
capable to live independently or are able to perform daily activities requiring
basis but complex motor skills.

Study design aimed at the quantification of motor performance in elderly with
and without a neurodegenerative disorder. All subjects wil be tested at least
once with the device. A number of subjects will be tested more than once (with
an interval of at least one year) for a longitudinal analysis of their motor
performance.

The burder on subjects can be considered marginally. Most subjects will be
measured once for a short amount of time (approximately one hour). The
equipment worn by the subject is non-obstructive. The method is non invasive.
Subjects have the right to stop the measurements at any time without further
consequences.