Dementia Care Research and Psychosocial Factors

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Infectious Diseases
• Biomarker Discovery

Background:

• People living with dementia (PLWD) experience high rates of preventable hospital admissions due to infections like urinary tract infections (UTIs).
• Atypical UTI presentation and communication difficulties in PLWD delay diagnosis, increasing risks of sepsis, cognitive decline, and mortality.
• Improved diagnostic methods are urgently needed for early UTI detection in PLWD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify novel urinary biomarkers for early UTI detection in PLWD.
• To develop and validate a point-of-care (PoC) device for rapid UTI diagnosis in this population.

Main Methods:

• Multi-omics analysis of urine samples, including Olink inflammatory panels and extracellular vesicle (EV) characterization.
• Urinary microbiome sequencing and *Escherichia coli* genome sequencing.
• Development of a PoC device utilizing isothermal amplification and optical detection for rapid bacterial DNA detection.

Main Results:

• Identification of potential inflammatory mediators and elevated EV-associated markers indicative of UTIs.
• Validation of the PoC device's accuracy in detecting *E. coli* DNA, with heat treatment improving assay performance.
• Preliminary data shows faster fluorescent response in positive samples, suggesting rapid detection capabilities.

Conclusions:

• Urinary biomarkers and the developed PoC device show promise for improving UTI diagnosis in PLWD.
• Early UTI detection can reduce hospitalizations and prevent severe complications in this vulnerable group.
• Further optimization of biomarker analysis and PoC device design is planned to enhance diagnostic accuracy and usability.