There are many diseases that can affect the retina, which the doctor can detect. A new study conducted by researchers at a hospital in New Zealand revealed that the thinning of the retina, and the dullness of the light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye in middle age may be a clear sign of Impaired cognitive functioning early in life and in adulthood.
New eye sign confirms Alzheimer’s disease
And the results of the study, which was conducted on about 1,000 children born in the early seventies, indicated that a simple eye test could one day pave the way to predict a person’s risk of serious diseases, such as: Alzheimer’s disease, which is the most common form of dementia, according to a website published in JAMA. Ophthalmology.
Five decades later, researchers analyzed a subset of 865 adults who had an eye exam at age 45, along with a combination of neuropsychological tests in adulthood and early childhood, as part of the Dunedin experiment. The thicknesses of two different parts of the retina (the fiber layers) were measured. Retinal neurons and ganglion cell layers) in scans.
The analysis showed that study participants who had thinner retinal layers scored lower on tests of cognitive performance, both as adults and when they were children. However, no associations were found between retinal thinning and a general decline in cognitive performance (between childhood and middle age) that might indicate something in the brain.
And while layers of nerve fibers in the thinner retina at 45 have been linked to lower brain processing speeds since childhood, it may just be a sign of general aging, and not necessarily linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
Although more research is needed, health researcher Ashley Barrett-Young, from the University of Otago in New Zealand, said: “As we have not been able to treat advanced Alzheimer’s disease, and the global prevalence of the disease is increasing, the ability to identify people in the pre-clinical stage is limited. When we still have a chance to step in, that’s really important.”
The researchers explained that people with Alzheimer’s disease often live with visual impairments that may contribute to mental confusion, disorientation and social withdrawal, in addition to all symptoms that may lead to memory loss, and disrupt the daily life of millions of people with the disease around the world.
Previous studies conducted a decade ago revealed that beta-amyloid proteins are one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease, which can be detected through the retina of people with the disease; Eye imaging scans show that Alzheimer’s patients have a thinner retina, which makes the eyes a window to the brain.
A 2018 study also found strong links between Alzheimer’s disease and three common eye conditions, including glaucoma and macular degeneration. Although they are all very interesting cases, the risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease are many and varied, so for now, any links between Alzheimer’s disease and eye health are still under intense investigation.
Dr Barrett Young, who led the study, said: ‘The results suggest that retinal thickness can be an indicator of overall brain health.
It is still not known whether an eye test to predict a complex and malignant disease, such as Alzheimer’s disease, is feasible. However, a number of previous studies including in people with dementia, not just healthy adults, have suggested that retinal thinning may precede cognitive decline and dementia diagnosis.
The researchers believe, that retinal thinning should be investigated as a biomarker of cognitive change worth pursuing, given what has been discovered so far and the increasing burden of Alzheimer’s disease, and given that routine eye exams are less expensive than brain imaging scans commonly used to check brain health, they would be A cost-effective alternative to monitoring changes in brain health over time.