In a new study, researchers found a quick, non-invasive eye scan can identify changes in the retina that could be used to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease.
It is the world-first study using specialized eye-scanning technology to detect people with early Alzheimer’s disease.
The research was conducted by a team from the Centre for Eye Research Australia and the University of Melbourne.
The team shows that the eye test can accurately identify people with high levels of amyloid beta, a protein that accumulates in the brain and retina in people with Alzheimer’s disease up to 20 years before the onset of symptoms.
The findings could pave the way to a new diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s disease and may allow earlier detection of people at risk.
Current tests for the disease include spinal fluid tests (lumbar puncture) or brain PET scans, that require the injection of a radioactive tracer.
These existing tests are invasive, expensive and not easily accessible. They are generally reserved for people in clinical trials or those with atypical forms of the disease.
As a result, many people with memory problems and other symptoms of dementia miss out on diagnostic tests.
This can be distressing for patients and their families. It can also mean that potentially treatable causes of memory impairment that mimic Alzheimer’s disease may be missed.
According to the team, the eye scan uses hyper-spectral imaging, a specialized form of technology often used in satellites to scan the earth looking for mineral deposits, to shine a rainbow-colored light into the eye.
The study shows that there are differences between the way the light is reflected from the retinas of people with amyloid beta deposits in the brain and from the retinas of people with lower levels of the protein.
The researchers are now validating the technology in a larger study.
If effective treatments are to be developed, they will target Alzheimer’s disease early, well before extensive brain damage has occurred.
The lead authors of the study are Associate Professor Peter van Wijngaarden and Dr. Xavier Hadoux.
The study is published in Nature Communications.
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