Eyes provide peek at Alzheimer's disease risk

Date:
August 23, 2021
Source:
University of California - San Diego
Summary:
Amyloid plaques found in the retinas of eyes may be an indicator
of similar plaques in the brain, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease,
and may provide a more visible biomarker for detecting disease risk.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Amyloid plaques are protein deposits that collect between brain cells, hindering function and eventually leading to neuronal death. They are considered a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and the focus of
multiple investigations designed to reduce or prevent their formation, including the nationwide A4 study.


==========================================================================
But amyloid deposits may also occur in the retina of the eye, often in
patients clinically diagnosed with AD, suggesting similar pathologies in
both organs. In a small, cross-sectional study, a team of researchers, led
by scientists at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, compared tests of retinal and brain amyloids in patients from the A4
study and another study (Longitudinal Evaluation of Amyloid Risk and Neurodegeneration) assessing neurodegeneration risk in persons with low
levels of amyloid.

Like the proverbial "windows to the soul," the researchers observed that
the presence of retinal spots in the eyes correlated with brain scans
showing higher levels of cerebral amyloid. The finding suggests that non-invasive retinal imaging may be useful as a biomarker for detecting early-stage AD risk.

The findings published in the August 17, 2021 issue of Alzheimer's &
Dementia.

"This was a small initial dataset from the screening visit. It involved
eight patients," said senior author Robert Rissman, PhD, professor
of neurosciences at UC San Diego School of Medicine and director of
the Biomarker Core for the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study and Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at UC San Diego. "But these findings
are encouraging because they suggest it may be possible to determine
the onset, spread and morphology of AD -- a preclinical diagnosis --
using retinal imaging, rather than more difficult and costly brain
scans. We look forward to seeing the results of additional timepoint
retinal scans and the impact of solanezumab (a monoclonal antibody) on
retinal imaging. Unfortunately we will need to wait to see and analyze
these data when the A4 trial is completed." The next step, said Rissman,
will be to conduct a larger study to more fully document and ascertain
the relationship between retinal amyloid and cerebral amyloid, both cross-sectionally and over time.

Co-authors include: Jennifer Ngolab and Shaina Korouri, UC San Diego;
Michael Donohue, Alison Belsha, Jennifer Salazar, Paula Cohen, Sandhya
Jaiswal, Veasna Tan, Devon Gessert, Paul S. Aisen and Michael S. Rafii,
all at University of Southern California; Neelum T. Aggarwal, Rush
University Medical Center; Jessica Alber, University of Rhode Island; Ken Johnson, NeuroVision Imaging Inc; Gregory Jicha, University of Kentucky; Christopher van Dyck, Yale University; James Lah, Emory University;
Stephen Salloway, Butler Hospital, R.I.; Reisa A. Sperling, Brigham and
Women's Hospital/Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_California_-_San_Diego. Original written by Scott La
Fee. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Jennifer Ngolab, Michael Donohue, Alison Belsha, Jennifer Salazar,
Paula
Cohen, Sandhya Jaiswal, Veasna Tan, Devon Gessert, Shaina Korouri,
Neelum T. Aggarwal, Jessica Alber, Ken Johnson, Gregory Jicha,
Christopher Dyck, James Lah, Stephen Salloway, Reisa A. Sperling,
Paul S. Aisen, Michael S.

Rafii, Robert A. Rissman. Feasibility study for detection of retinal
amyloid in clinical trials: The Anti‐Amyloid Treatment
in Asymptomatic Alzheimer's Disease (A4) trial. Alzheimer's &
Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring, 2021; 13
(1) DOI: 10.1002/ dad2.12199 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210823125758.htm

--- up 15 weeks, 3 days, 22 hours, 45 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)