Scientists at Duke Eye Center and beyond have studied other changes in the retina that could signal trouble upstream in the brain, such as thinning of some of the retinal nerve layers. With nearly 6 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease and no viable treatments or noninvasive tools for early diagnosis, its burden on families and the economy is heavy. The study found differences in the retinas of those with Alzheimer’s disease when compared to healthy people and to those with mild cognitive impairment, often a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease. “We’re measuring blood vessels that can’t be seen during a regular eye exam and we’re doing that with relatively new noninvasive technology that takes high-resolution images of very small blood vessels within the retina in just a few minutes,” she said. “It’s possible that these changes in blood vessel density in the retina could mirror what’s going on in the tiny blood vessels in the brain, perhaps before we are able to detect any changes in cognition.” The differences in density were statistically significant after researchers controlled for factors including age, sex, and level of education, said Duke ophthalmologist and retinal surgeon Sharon Fekrat, M.D., the study’s senior author. In the eyes of 39 people with Alzheimer’s disease, that web was less dense and even sparse in places. In people with healthy brains, microscopic blood vessels form a dense web at the back of the eye inside the retina, as seen in 133 participants in a control group. – A quick eye exam might one day allow eye doctors to check up on both your eyeglasses prescription and your brain health.Ī study of more than 200 people at the Duke Eye Center published March 11 in the journal Ophthalmology Retina suggests the loss of blood vessels in the retina could signal Alzheimer’s disease. Changes in the retinal microvasculature may mirror small vessel cerebrovascular changes in AD.Ĭopyright © 2019 American Academy of Ophthalmology. MCI participants showed significantly decreased temporal RNFL thickness (P = 0.04) compared with controls.Īlzheimer's participants showed significantly reduced macular VD, PD, and GC-IPL thickness compared with MCI and controls. Alzheimer's participants showed significantly decreased GC-IPL thickness over the inferior (P = 0.032) and inferonasal (P = 0.025) sectors compared with MCI and significantly decreased GC-IPL thickness over the entire (P = 0.012), superonasal (P = 0.041), inferior (P = 0.004), and inferonasal (P = 0.006) sectors compared to controls. FAZ area and CST did not differ significantly between groups (P > 0.05).

There was no difference in SCP VD or PD between MCI and controls (P > 0.05). Foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area, central subfield thickness (CST), macular ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GC-IPL) thickness, and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness were also compared.Īlzheimer's participants showed significantly decreased SCP VD and PD in the 3-mm ring (P = 0.001 and P = 0.002, respectively) and 3-mm circle (P = 0.003 and P = 0.004, respectively) and decreased SCP VD in the 6-mm circle (P = 0.047) compared with MCI and significantly decreased SCP VD and PD in the 3-mm ring (P = 0.008 and P = 0.004, respectively) and 3-mm circle (P = 0.015 and P = 0.009, respectively) and SCP PD in the 6-mm circle (P = 0.033) when compared with cognitively intact controls. Vessel density (VD) and perfusion density (PD) in the SCP within the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study 6-mm circle, 3-mm circle, and 3-mm ring were compared between groups. Participants were imaged using Zeiss Cirrus HD-5000 with AngioPlex (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Dublin, CA) and underwent cognitive evaluation with Mini-Mental State Examination.

Seventy eyes from 39 AD participants, 72 eyes from 37 MCI participants, and 254 eyes from 133 control participants were enrolled. Evaluate and compare the retinal microvasculature in the superficial capillary plexus (SCP) in Alzheimer's disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and cognitively intact controls using OCT angiography.

Fekrat elyoum