According to a study, the eyes may provide an early warning for dementia associated with Alzheimer’s disease, stroke and other diseases.
In the study of more than 8,000 middle-aged people who had not suffered a stroke, researchers found that those with impaired mental function were about three times more likely to have abnormalities in the retinal vessels, which are called arterioles.
Lead researcher Dr. Tien Yin Wong said the study shows that people with cognitive dementia are more likely to have pathological changes in the retinal vessels, which may be a reflection of similar pathological changes in the brain.
Wong, a professor of ophthalmology at the Singapore National Eye Center, said the study validates a long-held hypothesis that some vascular cause other than the aging process is associated with stroke. He said retinal exams could potentially provide an inexpensive, noninvasive way to diagnose and evaluate vascular dementia in the general population.
The changes in the eye in the study can usually be detected by an ophthalmologist,” Wong told Medical Week. “However, the study identified the retina changes from a detailed grading of retinal photographs, thus the sensitivity using photographs is probably higher.”
Wong said the results of this study are probably too preliminary
to suggest changes in clinical practice such as what to do
with patients who have a positive examination.
“This study was cross-sectional, and a prospective study is needed
before these findings can be clinically applied,” he said.
