Texas A&M Plans Gait Study to Detect Alzheimer's Biomarkers in Asymptomatic Adults Ages 45-85

The study recruits participants without dementia for cognitive tests, blood draws, brain MRI, and motion-capture gait analysis at preferred and fast speeds. Researchers will correlate gait reserve—the gap between usual and maximal comfortable speed—with established Alzheimer's biomarkers. If associations appear, the work could support future low-cost screening before irreversible neuronal loss occurs. Prior observational cohorts, such as the 2016 Whitehall II gait analysis and a 2021 Neurology paper on step-time variability, linked subtle walking changes to later cognitive decline, yet both examined older or already symptomatic groups. This protocol targets midlife adults to close that temporal gap and assess whether gait metrics add incremental value beyond plasma p-tau217 or amyloid PET. No results exist yet; the design is cross-sectional and correlational, so it cannot establish causality or predictive accuracy. Next steps require longitudinal follow-up to determine whether baseline gait differences forecast conversion to mild cognitive impairment within five to ten years and whether automated walkway systems achieve acceptable sensitivity in primary-care settings.