Gait analysis as a clinical tool for dementia: current perspectives and future challenges

Abstract

Gait, the way that we walk, requires complex cognitive functions. Gait may be a useful early marker for dementia diagnosis, as gait impairments precede and reflect cognitive decline. Early diagnosis of dementia enables individuals and their families to make informed decisions about their care plans, and allows researchers to understand preclinical and prodromal disease stages, providing novel targets for drug therapies. As such, a range of biomarkers are being developed to improve early and accurate diagnosis, including gait analysis. This editorial will outline how gait analysis can support the clinical diagnosis of dementia, including evidence of unique signatures of gait which can aid the identification of cognitive impairment and discrete dementia disease subtypes, the potential use of wearable technology to assess gait in the clinic and the real world, and key recommendations for the future implementation of gait into the diagnostic toolkit for dementia.