Eye Scans May Detect Alzheimer's Disease In Williamsburg Seniors
Two new studies now suggest that a noninvasive eye scan could soon be used to catch Alzheimer's disease early
When will Alzheimer’s eye scans be available in Williamsburg?
The world's population is aging rapidly and the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease is on the rise. For this reason, the need for efficient dementia screening methods that can be applied to millions of people is dire. Current diagnostic practices are either invasive or ineffective.For instance, brain scans are costly, and spinal taps — or lumbar punctures — are invasive and potentially harmful. Specialists currently diagnose Alzheimer's disease using memory tests and by tracking behavioral changes. However, by the time that the symptoms appear, the disease has already progressed.
For these reasons, researchers are hard at work trying to devise newer and better diagnostic tools for Alzheimer's. For instance, some scientists are trying to use a "sniff test" as a way of assessing whether someone has dementia.
Now, researchers at Duke University in Durham, NC, say that Alzheimer's could be diagnosed in seconds just by looking at a person's eyes, and scientists at the Sheba Medical Center in Israel concur.
What do the signs of Alzheimer's disease look like in the retina?
Doctors use a technique called optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) to examine the link between the eyes' retinas and Alzheimer's disease. OCTA lets ophthalmologists examine each of the retina's layers, mapping them and measuring their thickness noninvasively. The technique uses light waves to take photos of the retina. Doctors found that people with Alzheimer's have lost small blood vessels in the retina at the back of the eye, and a certain layer of the retina was thinner in people with Alzheimer's than in those with MCI or people who did not have any form of cognitive impairment.
The scientists speculate that the changes in the retina reflect the disruptions in the brain's blood vessels that Alzheimer's causes. This is a valid hypothesis, they say, given that the optic nerve connects the brain with the retina.
This project meets a huge unmet need. It's not possible for current techniques like a brain scan or lumbar puncture (spinal tap) to screen the number of patients with this disease. Almost everyone has a family member or extended family affected by Alzheimer's. We need to detect the disease earlier and introduce treatments earlier, as this is great news for continued studies in Alzheimer’s disease detection, with hopes one day to find more treatments.
To read more about the findings of this new study on Alzheimer’s disease detection by the retina please Click Here
Source: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323515.php
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