Rambling speech linked to development of Alzheimer’s

New research suggests from Massachusetts General Hospital has warned that rambling speech could be an indicator of dementia later in life.

Scientists from the study claimed that a difficultly composing simple sentences could be an early indication of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a condition which can lead to Alzheimer’s,

During the experiment, 24 healthy older people and 22 MCI sufferers were asked to create a sentence out of three words.

Lead researcher Dr Janet Cohen Sherman, from Massachusetts General Hospital, explained: "The MCIs are very long-winded.

"One significant difference is the mean length of utterance, how many words MCI subjects used versus healthy older - it was a very significant difference.

"MCIs almost tended to get lost along the way and had more difficulty connecting the three words and also difficulty remembering the three words."

One example of the test included directing participants to construct a sentence out of the words "stove, water and pot".

A simple solution would be: "I filled the pot with water and put it on the stove." 

Dr Sherman concluded that: “The healthy older individuals could give us a very concise sentence with the three words, and so could the healthy young, but individuals with mild cognitive impairment struggled."