Eye tests could detect Alzheimer's
Source: Agencies |
July 18, 2011, Monday
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SCIENTISTS in Australia are reporting encouraging early results from a simple eye test they hope will give a non-invasive way to detect signs of Alzheimer's disease.
Although it has been tried on just a small number of people and more research is needed, the experimental test has a solid basis: Alzheimer's is known to cause changes in the eyes, not just the brain. Other scientists in the United States also are working on an eye test for detecting the disease.
A separate study found that falls might be an early warning sign of Alzheimer's. People who seemed to have healthy minds but who were discovered to have hidden plaques clogging their brains were five times more likely to fall during the study than those without these brain deposits, which are a hallmark of Alzheimer's.
Both studies were discussed yesterday at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in France.
More than 5.4 million Americans and 35 million people worldwide have Alzheimer's. It has no cure and drugs only temporarily ease symptoms, so finding it early mostly helps patients and their families prepare and arrange care.
Brain scans can find evidence of Alzheimer's a decade or more before it causes memory and thinking problems, but they're too expensive and impractical for routine use. A simple eye test and warning signs like falls could be a big help.
The eye study involved photographing blood vessels in the retina, the nerve layer lining the back of the eyes. Most eye doctors have the cameras used for this, but it takes a special computer program to measure blood vessels for the experimental test doctors are using in the Alzheimer's research, said the study's leader, Shaun Frost of Australia's national science agency, CSIRO.
Researchers compared retinal photos of 110 healthy people, 13 people with Alzheimer's and 13 others with mild cognitive impairment, or "pre-Alzheimer's," who were taking part in a larger study on aging. The widths of certain blood vessels in those with Alzheimer's were different from vessels in the others and the amount of difference matched the amount of plaque found.
More study is planned on larger groups to see how accurate the test might be, Frost said.
Earlier work by Dr Lee Goldstein of Boston University showed that amyloid, the protein that makes up Alzheimer's brain plaque, can be measured in the lens of the eyes of some people with the disease, particularly Down syndrome patients who often are prone to Alzheimer's.
A company, Neuroptix, is testing a laser eye scanner to measure amyloid in the eyes. Goldstein praised the work by the Australian scientists.
"It's a small study" but "suggestive and encouraging," he said. "My hat's off to them for looking outside the brain for other areas where we might see other evidence of this disease."
Eye doctors often are the first to see patients with signs of Alzheimer's, which can start with vision changes, not just memory problems the disease is most known for, said Dr Ronald Petersen, a Mayo Clinic dementia expert with no role in the new studies.
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