Eye Exam Could Detect Dementia


New research shows that a simple eye exam could diagnose Alzheimer's - years before symptoms manifest. Researchers at Boston University's Alzheimer's Disease Centre explain that a protein that causes memory loss in the brain also accumulates in the eyes and can be detected by an eye exam. Researchers hope that, in future, eye exams could be used to test for and diagnose Alzheimer's, allowing sufferers to access medication that could combat the onset of the debilitating disease.

Currently medical experts can only confirm the presence of the disease causing protein, amyloid-beta,following a post mortem - leaving physicians to use memory tests and other measures to diagnose dementia long after symptoms become established. However, following a five year study, researchers at Boston University explain that the protein can be found in the lens of the eye before symptoms manifest.

Alzheimer's is though to affect over 800,00 people in Britain alone - with cases expected to double within the next decade. There is no known cure. However researchers are now developing eye scanning technology that will detect and measure the concentration of amyloid-beta in the eye's lens. Researchers claim that detection scanners could be in operation within 5 years.

The news comes just months after University College London announced that it was developing an eye exam may be able to help better diagnose Alzheimer's by checking for changes to the eye's retina caused by the condition.

21st May 2010

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