A change in tongue muscle mass has been linked to cognitive decline in people with dementia, potentially heralding a new tool for clinicians testing for the progression of the disease.
This test would allow doctors to more easily assess the loss of grey matter in people who have Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB), one of the most common forms of the age-related neurodegenerative disorder. Patients with DLB typically experience more motor decline but less memory loss than those with Alzheimer's Disease.
Researchers found that people with DLB saw an increase in tongue muscle mass and a decrease in grey matter density as their dementia worsened, while those with Alzheimer's did not. If pushed forward to a clinical level, this research could be a cheap and non-invasive tool to test dementia progression.
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The study authors explained to Science Direct : “Tongue muscle volume was positively associated with hippocampal and total grey matter volume in DLB."
This research looked to explore further the condition known as sarcopenia, a general muscle wasting disorder common in the over 50s, and the onset of dementia and cognitive decline. Previous studies have shown that both wasting diseases occur through the same mechanism - chronic inflammation.
People with Alzheimer's and DLB were scanned using an MRI machine, which measured their brain and tongue volumes. DLB patients saw an increase in tongue mass and a decrease in grey matter mass in both the left and right regions of the hippocampus - the region of the brain responsible for memory and motor function.
The proposed reason for this increase in tongue mass is the proliferation of tiny fat deposits around the muscles of people with age-related mobility dysfunctions, like Dementia with Lewy Bodies.
The study's authors believe this new information could change dementia treatments. They said: "Measuring the tongue muscle can offer a simple, non-invasive and cost-effective measurement of muscle volume since most patients with suspected or confirmed dementia will have MRI scans."
While this is good news for clinicians, this recent research only involved a study of around 50 patients, and so will require longer form research before it is used by doctors.
“Further longitudinal investigations are required to explore the association between tongue muscle and prognosis,” the study's authors added.
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