Having a poor score on a simple memory test correlates closely with the presence of beta-amyloid in the brain, even among apparently cognitively healthy older adults, a US study suggests.

The Stages of Objective Memory Impairment (SOMI) test, developed by researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, in New York City, could help identify people in the very first stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the researchers say.

In clinical trials, SOMI stages can be used for prioritising enrolment of persons likely to have AD pathology, perhaps without the need for expensive or invasive tests, said Clinical Professor Ellen Grober, of Einstein’s department of neurology.

The SOMI system is based on the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT), which was also developed by Einstein researchers.