Windows of the Brain: Retinal Screening for Early Detection of Neurodegenerative Diseases

Article: Our eyes may provide early warning signs of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
Source: Washington Post, via The Scientist
Published: February 27, 2021

This article is an example of coverage about eye care that appears in everyday news, in this case in the Washington Post, to inform the public and patients about the importance of being vigilant about their health in general and their eye health in particular. This article addresses the value of early detection in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, to improve treatment outcomes or interpersonal arrangements. Progress in retinal screening has great potential to provide a noninvasive and relatively inexpensive window to neurological health. The article highlights three projects toward this goal. The first by neuroscientist Maya Koronyo-Hamaoui at Cedar-Sinai visualizes beta amyloid plaques, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, through ingested curcumin (a compound in turmeric), which has high affinity for beta amyloid and shows up on retinal exam (with the right fluorescence-detecting equipment). The second project by biomedical engineer Ruogu Fang at the University of Florida uses smartphone fundus photography and artificial intelligence algorithms to screen photos of the microvasculature of the retina, on the premise that there is strong correlation between hypoxia and neuronal death characteristic of both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. In a third project that also uses a neural network and ocular coherence tomography (OCT), vitreoretinal surgeon Sharon Fekrat at Duke University found that thinning of the retina's ganglion cell layer is highly predictive of Alzheimer's diagnosis. These techniques are not flawless, since the association between biomarkers and disease is complex. Nonetheless, with increasing sensitivity, they undoubtedly become more valuable tools in the diagnostics armamentarium.

My rating of this study: ⭐⭐