Detecting Alzheimer’s may soon be as simple as spotting changes in retinal cells, according to a groundbreaking study led by international researchers, including one of Indian origin. Research has shown that physical changes in retinal cells can occur at the same time as brain changes found in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers from Australia, Italy and the US have investigated how two proteins – beta-amyloid and tau that build up in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients can also be found in eye cell tissue, often long before symptoms appear. clear
The findings, published in the peer-reviewed journal Acta Neuropathol, may contribute to the future development of an imaging technique with the potential to detect Alzheimer’s disease through a non-invasive eye exam.
Graham says that many degenerative diseases (including Alzheimer’s) share common cell degeneration pathways, and identifying the patterns and locations of abnormal proteins in retinal cells can also help diagnose diseases like glaucoma.
“We can now diagnose advanced glaucoma by imaging the back of the eye, but we also know that if there are changes at the molecular or cellular level, we can see those structural changes before the nerve fibers start to drop out.”
