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Alzheimer’s disease remains one of the most feared conditions of our time. For decades, researchers have searched for ways to detect its early signs before memory loss becomes irreversible.

A team from the University of Bath, working with the University of Bristol, has now shown that a simple brain-wave test could transform this challenge.

The findings reveal that the Fastball EEG test can identify memory impairment linked to Alzheimer’s years before a clinical diagnosis is possible. Unlike traditional tools, it works passively and can even be used in people’s homes.

Fastball memory test

Fastball is a three-minute EEG test that tracks brain activity while participants view a stream of images. It does not require them to follow instructions or recall details, making it more objective than memory tests used today.

The research team demonstrated that Fastball detects memory issues in people with mild cognitive impairment, a condition that often progresses to Alzheimer’s.

Earlier studies in 2021 already suggested Fastball’s sensitivity, but this new work highlights its potential in real-world settings.

Catching Alzheimer’s early

New Alzheimer’s treatments such as donanemab and lecanemab work best in the early stages. Yet in England, one in three people living with dementia lack a formal diagnosis.

This delay prevents timely treatment, reduces access to support, and limits opportunities for clinical research.

Dr. George Stothart from the University of Bath, who led the study, stressed the importance of earlier detection.

“We’re missing the first 10 to 20 years of Alzheimer’s with current diagnostic tools. Fastball offers a way to change that – detecting memory decline far earlier and more objectively, using a quick and passive test,” he said.

Mild impairment, higher risk

Alzheimer’s disease often begins with silent changes in the brain decades before symptoms. mild cognitive impairment, especially the amnestic form, is considered a key transition stage.

Patients with this condition show pronounced memory problems and face a higher risk of developing dementia compared to those with other types of impairment.

Fastball zeroes in on recognition memory. Unlike attention tests or verbal recall, it captures the brain’s unconscious response to familiar images.

The study confirmed that the tool predicts recognition memory performance but not unrelated functions like sustained attention.

From labs to living rooms

The study marks the first time Fastball has been successfully used in homes rather than in clinical labs. This shift could enable wider screening and regular monitoring through low-cost equipment.

Researchers envision the test being applied in GP surgeries, memory clinics, and private households. Its simplicity and portability make it attractive for large-scale adoption.

“There’s an urgent need for accurate, practical tools to diagnose Alzheimer’s at scale. Fastball is cheap, portable, and works in real-world settings,” added Dr. Stothart.

Fastball test is very reliable

Traditional memory tests often face cultural, linguistic, and educational biases. They also require effort and communication, which can be stressful for patients.

Fastball avoids these hurdles by passively recording brain activity. It uses steady-state visual stimulation, a method that produces reliable signals in a short time.

In this study, the test showed good reliability over a year when repeated with healthy older adults.

Importantly, patients who later developed dementia displayed weaker responses at baseline – hinting at its predictive potential.

The Academy of Medical Sciences funded the study, while dementia research charity BRACE provided vital backing. BRACE has long championed the project and sees promise in its next stages.

“Fastball is an incredible tool that could offer anyone who, for whatever reason, cannot access a dementia diagnosis in a clinical setting,” said Chris Williams, CEO of BRACE Dementia Research.

“BRACE has been supporting the development of Fastball for several years, and we are excited to see what Dr. Stothart’s team will achieve over the next few years with ongoing support from the charity.”

Hope for families facing Alzheimer’s

The potential of Fastball lies not only in its science but in its reach. By providing accurate results in minutes without demanding effort from patients, it could reshape the way memory disorders are tracked and treated.

With ongoing support and refinement, this test might open the door to earlier interventions and new hope for families facing Alzheimer’s, while also offering healthcare systems an affordable, scalable approach to improve diagnosis, monitoring, and timely access to emerging treatments.

The study is published in the journal Brain Communications.

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Greater lean mass and higher fitness were linked with fewer anxiety and depression symptoms in preadolescent children, as higher visceral adipose tissue was found to be related to increased mental health issues, according to results published in JAMA Network. The study authors noted that the findings highlight the importance of looking at physical health markers early on to support a child’s mental health and development.^1,2

Mental Health Challenges and Weight Management

Nearly 20% of children and adolescents experience mental health issues, with anxiety and depression being the most common, increasing by nearly 30% between 2016 and 2020. Additionally, about 40% of adolescents report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, according to data provided in the study. Mental health challenges at a young age can impact a child’s development, as depression can hinder academic performance, and chronic anxiety and depression can lead to long-term health issues like heart disease.¹

Previous studies have linked both body composition and fitness with childhood mental health. Higher fitness levels have been associated with improved overall health and fewer depressive symptoms in children and adolescents; however, most children do not meet physical activity guidelines. Additionally, childhood obesity rates have increased, placing children at an increased risk for depression and anxiety due to negative body image and various social factors.^1,3

How Do Depression and Anxiety Relate to Obesity in Children?

Despite what is already known about mental health and childhood obesity, research on the relationship between fitness and anxiety and depression is limited for children under 10. To further this research, investigators created a cross-sectional study that evaluated the relationship between body composition, fitness, and symptoms of anxiety and depression in a large sample of preadolescent children aged 8 to 11 years, without prior health diagnosis. The study used dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to assess body composition and a VO₂ peak test to evaluate fitness.¹

A total of 207 children were included in the study, with depression and anxiety measured using self-report tools. The study authors noted that depression was assessed with the 12-item short form of the Child Depression Inventory (CDI), with higher scores indicating increased symptom severity. Anxiety was evaluated using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC-T), where higher scores indicated severe anxiety.¹

The results demonstrated that certain body compositions and fitness measures were linked to anxiety and depression symptoms. Specifically, a higher body fat percentage and increased visceral adipose tissue (VAT) were associated with more severe anxiety symptoms, as higher lean mass and higher cardiorespiratory fitness were linked with fewer anxiety symptoms. For depression, a higher body fat percentage was not associated with depressive symptoms, but a higher VAT was linked to more severe depression. However, both greater lean mass and a higher level of cardiorespiratory fitness were related to fewer depressive symptoms.¹

The findings suggest higher VAT increased depressive and anxiety symptoms, as high body fat percentage was only connected with greater anxiety. Children who had greater lean mass and more fitness and physical activity had fewer mental health symptoms.^1,2

“These distinctions, detectable even in preadolescence, could support early identification of children at greater risk for mental health symptoms. Integrating modifiable factors like fitness and body composition into routine pediatric assessments may help guide preventative care and early intervention to improve children’s mental health outcomes,” the authors said in the study.¹

REFERENCES

1. Braun B, Khan NA, Hillman CH, Raine LB. Body Composition, Fitness, and Mental Health in Preadolescent Children. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(8):e2528868. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.28868

2. Body composition, fitness, and mental health in preadolescent children. EurekAlert! News release. August 26, 2025. Accessed September 3, 2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1095724

3. Lasting Impact: The Long-Term Effects of Childhood Obesity. Cleveland Clinic. News release. June 3, 2024. Accessed September 3, 2025. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/long-term-effects-of-childhood-obesity

The results of randomized clinical trial show that a single shot of the antibiotic benzathine penicillin G (BPG) is as effective in treating early syphilis as the three-injection regimen used in many patients, researchers reported today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The findings come at a time when the United States and other countries around the world have been experiencing shortages of BPG, which has been the standard treatment for early syphilis since the early 1950s. Syphilis, caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum, is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections, with an estimated 209,000 US infections in 2023. Though US syphilis incidence slowed in 2023, cases have risen by 61% since 2019, and shortages of BPG have hampered treatment.

The authors of the study, which was led by researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), say the findings could boost syphilis control, aid antibiotic stewardship efforts, and simplify treatment for syphilis patients.

“Benzathine penicillin G is highly effective against syphilis, but the three-dose regimen can be burdensome and deter people from attending follow-up visits with their healthcare providers,” Carolyn Deal, PhD, chief of the enteric and sexually transmitted infections branch of NIAID, said in an NIH press release. “The new findings offer welcome evidence for potentially simplifying treatment with an equally effective one-dose regimen, particularly while syphilis rates remain alarmingly high.”

‘No observable benefit’ to multiple doses

For the multicenter trial, investigators enrolled and assigned participants with early syphilis (which includes the primary, secondary, and early latent stages of the disease), with or without HIV, to receive an intramuscular injection of BPG in a one-time dose of 2.4 million units or a series of three 2.4-million-unit injections at weekly intervals. The primary end point was serologic response at 6 months, with a noninferiority margin of 10 percentage points.

The authors note that although a single dose of BPG has been the accepted regimen for early syphilis since it was introduced, there has long been concern that one dose may not be enough for people with HIV who have early syphilis.

“Despite recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] for single-dose benzathine penicillin G therapy, many clinicians treat persons who have HIV infection with multiple doses,” they wrote.

A total of 249 participants (97% men, 62% Black, 61% living with HIV) were enrolled in the trial from October 31, 2018, through March 2, 2022, with 124 in the single-dose group and 125 in the three-dose group. Of the participants, 19% had primary syphilis, 47% had secondary syphilis, and 33% had early latent syphilis. Fifty participants were excluded from the final analysis.

The new findings offer welcome evidence for potentially simplifying treatment with an equally effective one-dose regimen, particularly while syphilis rates remain alarmingly high.

The percentage of participants with serologic response at 6 months was 76% (95% confidence interval [CI], 68% to 82%) in the single-dose group and 70% (95% CI, 61% to 77%) in the three-dose group, for a between-group difference of –6 percentage points (90% CI, -15 to 3), indicating noninferiority. When the treatment groups were further stratified according to HIV infection, the results were similar, with serologic response observed in 76% of participants with HIV infection in the one-dose group and 71% of participants with HIV in the three-dose group.

The most common adverse events were local injection-site pain and tenderness, observed in 76% of participants in the single-dose group and 85% in the three-dose group. The authors note that the cumulative discomfort from three shots may have been a factor in why 21 participants in the three-dose group did not receive all three treatments, though participants’ reasons for not receiving all treatments weren’t consistently recorded.

“With no observable benefit to multiple treatments, a single treatment at a dose of 2.4 million units should be, in our opinion, the preferred treatment for early syphilis,” they wrote.

Findings should provide reassurance

“We hope these promising results will be complemented by scientific advances in syphilis prevention and diagnosis,” lead investigator Edward Hook, MD, an emeritus professor of medicine and epidemiology at UAB, said in the release.

In an editorial on the study in the same journal, CDC scientists Lindley Barbee, MD, MPH, and Laura Bachmann, MD, MPH, wrote, “The findings from this trial should provide reassurance to clinicians, particularly those caring for patients with HIV infection, that a single dose of benzathine penicillin G is sufficient to treat early syphilis.”

“The question remains whether persons with late latent syphilis or syphilis of unknown duration should receive the CDC-recommended regimen of three 2.4-million–unit doses of benzathine penicillin G. The data supporting the CDC recommendation are theoretical.”