The Alzheimer’s disease can it soon be diagnosed in ophthalmologists with a simple fundus? This is the question to which American researchers at Georgetown University in Washington (United States) would like to answer yes. These researchers, led by Prof. Scott Turner, have indeed noticed, by doing experiments on mice, that the retina (this membrane of the eyeball sensitive to light) is 49% thinner in rodents suffering from the disease. Alzheimer’s.
“The retina is an extension of the brain. It is therefore logical to be able to read the same pathological processes there, ”insists Professor Turner. However, the latter insisted, at the recent annual congress of the neuroscience society, in San Diego (California), on the fact that the research work is only at its very beginning and that it did not focus on than on mice. “When a person has Alzheimer’s disease, some brain cells are atrophied. It is the same process that would lead to the narrowing of the retina, ”he explained. “We can even imagine that an eye examination would make it possible to make the diagnosis of the disease 10 to 20 years before its onset. But for now it’s just speculation, ”he added with caution.
The suspicion of Alzheimer’s disease is confirmed by an MRI: on the images, the patient has atrophy of the hippocampus, the seat of memory. The doctor also takes tests to assess the degree of cognitive impairment.
For now, there is no reliable screening test that can diagnose the disease before the onset of cognitive impairment. However, 90% of French people say that‘they would submit to this test if it existed.