Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Possible through Changes in the Eye: New Study

Detecting Alzheimer’s disease may become as easy as spotting changes in cells of the retina of the eye, according to a new study. Researchers from Australia, Italy and the US have discovered that physical changes in cells of the retina can occur at the same time as brain changes found in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. These changes could potentially contribute to the development of an imaging technique with the potential to detect Alzheimer’s disease with a non-invasive eye test. The study analysed donor brain and retina tissue from 86 people. The results showed that people who had Alzheimer’s disease had nine times the amount of beta-amyloid protein in their retina compared to people who didn’t show any signs of cognitive impairment during their lifetime. The researchers were also able to track patterns in the location of these markers within the retina, with higher levels found in the tissues of the retina’s inner layer. We don’t have a device in the clinic to identify these changes in a living eye yet; but if we can label these proteins, then develop an imaging device that can spot change at the earliest stages, we may have a way to clinically diagnose diseases such as Alzheimer’s, said Professor Stuart Graham, head of Ophthalmology and Visual Science at Macquarie University.