— A professor of clinical neuropsychology at the University of Moncton says a computer application she developed could help doctors better predict the risk of dementia — and take some of the pressure off New Brunswick’s medical system. “This is the first time we have an index that’s reliable, useful, and easy to work with,” she said. In her research, she surveyed 800 family physicians in New Brunswick about how they deal with patients who may have dementia. Many doctors told her they’re ill-equipped to diagnose dementia and don’t know what to do when people complain about memory and cognitive issues. Battistini hopes the app will help unclog waiting lists for people in search of a specialist by ruling out those who are at a low risk of dementia.

Source: National Post April 29, 2018 20:15 UTC