Eye Tests Could Detect ‘Alzheimer’s In The Future’

LOUGHBOROUGH, U.K. - May 8, 2015 - PRLog -- New research suggests that Alzheimer’s disease could be detected through an eye test, revealing traces of the disease up to 20 years before symptoms develop.

The research was presented at the 30^th International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease in Austria. The research showed that Alzheimer’s and other dementias frequency co- occur with age–related macular degeneration (AMD) and research was now ongoing to create software to help pick up the changes in the retina that could indicate the early presence of Alzheimer’s.

In a second study it was found that blood vessels in the retina subtly change prior to Alzheimer’s that may also help predict early onset.

'These findings could lead to a low cost non-invasive method of screening the eyes before symptoms occur in the future -using a form of software linked with a form of wide-screen retinal photograpghy' said Mohammed Bhojani of Visual Answers Optometrists. 'Early detection should also offer better hope of reducing the progress of the condition'.