Retina diagnostics

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are developing a technology that will allow detecting Alzheimer's disease in the early stages. The essence of the method is to detect structural changes in the retina, which may be associated with the accumulation of a disease-specific protein (beta-amyloid) in the patient's brain using equipment that is available in every ophthalmology office.

Currently, expensive and invasive methods are used to diagnose Alzheimer's disease: positron emission tomography and examination of cerebrospinal fluid. The new technique is designed to reduce the cost and speed up the diagnosis, as well as make it less traumatic for the patient.

Previously, scientists examined the eyes of patients who died due to Alzheimer's disease, and found that they are characterized by degradation of the optic nerve and thinning of the retina in the central region.

In the new study, optical coherence tomographic angiography was used for diagnosis, with the help of which the retina of patients was examined. In total, the study involved 30 people aged about 70 years without clinical manifestations of Alzheimer's disease. At the same time, 17 participants had previously been diagnosed with elevated levels of Alzheimer's-specific beta-amyloid or tau protein by other diagnostic methods. This means that, despite the absence of symptoms, they are likely to develop the disease. The analyses of the second half of the participants did not show the presence of abnormal proteins.

Eye examination in patients with elevated levels of amyloid or tau protein revealed a characteristic thinning of the retina and an increase in the area free of blood vessels in the center of the retina (in the pictures on the right). The rest of the subjects (in the pictures on the left), whose tests were normal, retinal changes were expressed on average one and a half times less.

It is known that amyloid plaques begin to form in the brain several decades before the onset of clinical symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. However, their presence already causes serious damage to the brain, which results in impaired memory and cognitive functions. That is why it is so important to develop methods of early diagnosis that would allow you to start therapy as early as possible and delay even more damage.

The article by O'bryhim et al. Association of Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease With Optical Coherence Tomographic Angiography Findings is published in JAMA Ophthalmology.

Anastasia Poznyak, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru / based on Alzheimer's one day may be predicted during eye exam.