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hopes for early diagnosis from eye examination

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A new study has shown that Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline trigger specific changes in the retina. Possible early diagnostic test thanks to a simple eye examination.

A simple one eye examination could help doctors to Diagnostics accurately and early the Alzheimer’s diseasethe main form of dementia in the world affecting over 40 million people (there will be 150 million in 2050). The reason lies in the fact that the retina“overlooking” the nervous systempresents characteristic alterations in patients affected by neurodegenerative pathology and with cognitive decline. Such abnormalities have also been observed in people without such disorders; according to scholars they could be a early signal of Alzheimer, whose symptoms, moreover, appear decades after the start of the process of neuronal degeneration. The hope is that a standardized diagnostic test can be developed that can identify allo disease initial stage and prepare all the therapeutic pathways capable of slowing down its course. To this day, unfortunately, it is still an incurable disease.

An international research team led by US scientists from the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, who worked closely together at contact with colleagues from the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences of Macquarie University in Sydney (Australia), the European Brain Research Institute (EBRI) in Rome, the Queensland Brain Institute and other institutes. The scientists, coordinated by Professor Maya Koronyo-Hamaoui, professor of Neurosurgery, Neurology and Biomedical Sciences at the Californian center, reached their conclusions after conducting a thorough histopathological investigation e biochemistry of retinal and brain tissue from 86 deceased donors. Samples were collected over 14 years from patients with full-blown Alzheimer’s and varying degrees of cognitive impairment. This is the largest sample of its kind analyzed in the scientific literature. In this way it was possible to compare the pathological state of the tissues and relate it to cognitive function, from normal to severely impaired by Alzheimer’s.

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In patients with mild cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s, the researchers observed several abnormalities. First, an increased concentration of a protein called beta-amyloid 42“which in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease clumps together to form plaques that disrupt brain function,” as explained by Cedars Sinai in a press release. They also detected the accumulation of the “sticky” protein beta-amyloid in the ganglion cells; a greater number of astrociti e microglia cells (immune) associated with beta-amyloid plaques; 80 percent fewer microglial cells responsible for clearing these plaques from the retina and brain; And biological markers associated with neurodegeneration and inflammation.

All these alterations, which manifested themselves with tissue atrophy e inflammation varying degrees, particularly in the outer areas of the retina, were closely associated with cognitive decline. “These changes in the retina correlated with changes in parts of the brain called the entorhinal and temporal cortices, a center for memory, orientation and time perception,” Dr. Koronyo specified, highlighting the link to cognitive function. In simple words, these alterations can be the manifestation of the neurodegenerative pathology in progress. Interestingly, they were also present in some people with normal or slightly impaired cognitive function; this suggests that these could be predictive signs for a future diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. This is why an ad hoc eye examination could be very valuable.

“Our study is the first to provide in-depth analyzes of the protein profiles and molecular, cellular and structural effects of Alzheimer’s disease in the human retina and how they correspond to changes in brain and cognitive function,” explained Professor Koronyo-Hamaoui. “These findings could eventually lead to the development of imaging techniques that allow us to diagnose Alzheimer’s earlier and more accurately and to monitor its progression noninvasively by looking through the eye.” she commented the neurosurgeon. A recent study showed that the common form of dementia could also be diagnosed through a blood test. The details of the research “Retinal pathological features and proteome signatures of Alzheimer’s disease” have been published in the journal Acta Neuropathologica.

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