Still, treatment must start when patients have mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia, the two earliest symptomatic phases of the disease. But patients are often diagnosed later because the symptoms were mistaken for normal aging.<\/p>\n
About one-third of people with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer\u2019s develop dementia within five years, according to the Alzheimer\u2019s Association.<\/p>\n
An early diagnosis might also enable patients to participate in clinical trials of new experimental drugs, manage symptoms longer, and plan for future financial, legal, and care decisions.<\/p>\n
Sean Terwilliger, a retired IT specialist from Holyoke who was diagnosed with Alzheimer\u2019s disease in 2024, said that if he had received an earlier diagnosis, it \u201cwould have saved me loads of grief.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Sean](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/3N2MSQFGRGABTEY7SP7VQMUJDM.jpg\")
Sean Terwilliger received an infusion of the Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.Submitted photo<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m probably the perfect candidate for being able to use predictive AI to find something,\u201d said Terwilliger, 62, who writes a blog about living with Alzheimer\u2019s called alzblog.net<\/a> and advocates on behalf of the Alzheimer\u2019s Association of Massachusetts and New Hampshire.<\/p>\n Terwilliger said doctors initially thought he had difficulty processing information and remembering things because he suffered a ministroke in 2018. It took him more than five years to get a clinician to administer a neurocognitive test. During the exam, he said, he was unable to remember any of five common words read to him a few minutes earlier. That led to an appointment with a neurologist who administered blood tests, an MRI, and a PET scan, which resulted in the Alzheimer\u2019s diagnosis.<\/p>\n Terwilliger recently completed 18 months of intravenous infusions of Leqembi every other week at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield and says he feels sharper than he did before he started. Leqembi, like the rival drug Kisunla, clears a sticky toxic protein called amyloid that can form plaques in the brains of people with Alzheimer\u2019s. <\/p>\n Terwilliger said he probably would have taken the drug sooner if he had gotten the diagnosis earlier. He also would have begun his daily regimen of brain exercises sooner, including New York Times puzzles such as Wordle, Strands, and Connections.<\/p>\n Researchers at WPI found that one way to detect early-stage Alzheimer\u2019s is to use AI to scour MRI scans for loss of brain volume. Scientists have long known that the disease causes brain shrinkage, as neurons are injured and stop working properly. But it can be hard for clinicians to detect changes in brain volume when inspecting scans.<\/p>\n \u201cMachine learning can see differences and changes in the brain that the human eye can\u2019t,\u201d said Benjamin Nephew, an assistant research professor in the biology and biotechnology department, who led the study. <\/p>\n A team of investigators used machine learning to analyze 815 scans for volume measurements in 95 brain regions. They then deployed an algorithm to make predictions based upon differences in the measurements between healthy individuals and those with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer\u2019s-related dementia.<\/p>\n![\"Dr.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/OAQLDYE7DVTEDQNDEEZL3A4XFQ.jpg\")
Dr. Lidia Moura, lower right, conducted a meeting.David L. Ryan\/Globe Staff<\/p>\n
![\"Dr.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/4YRRPPVKQOZPR34VMG3WLJXHNE.jpg\")
Dr. Lidia Moura.David L. Ryan\/Globe Staff<\/p>\n