Researchers from Queen’s University Belfast have shown for the first time that the eye could be a surrogate for brain degeneration like Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

This research results have recently been published in the Journal of Ophthalmic Research and is the first clinical study showing a potential for peripheral retinal imaging to be used in monitoring AD and potentially other neurodegenerative diseases.

The team, led by Dr Imre Lengyel, Senior Lecturer and Researcher at the School of Medicine Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences at Queen’s University have found that by examining the eye we might be able to reflect on what might be taking place in the brain.

The work was carried out alongside health professionals and care providers for AD patients and explored whether there are manifestations of AD in the eye.

Based on laboratory observations the team hypothesized that changes in the peripheral retina could be important to explore the association between the eye and the brain.

Using ultra-widefield imaging technology developed by Optos Plc, the team found that there are indeed several changes that seem to be, especially in the peripheral retina, associated with this debilitating condition.