Current tests for Alzheimer’s include expensive tests using brain PET or MRI imaging. But two studies have shown that a simple eye test can detect Alzheimer’s accurately at very early stages—just by looking at subjects’ retinas.
As you probably already know, Alzheimer’s causes the loss of neurons and synapses in the brain and the accumulation of plaques and tangles of the protein beta-amyloid. The first study, led by Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, looked for signs of that protein in the retina. How? In one study, by having subjects ingest curcumin, which binds to protein to function as a “fluorescent tag,” making the beta-amyloid visible in the eyes of subjects with the disease during conventional eye imaging.
via Gizmodo
Image: Australis Photography
