If the agency approves it, aducanumab would be the first new Alzheimer’s treatment since 2003. Patients are desperate for new options, but some scientists say there isn’t enough evidence it works.
March 13, 2021
Elizabeth Anne Brown
THE WASHINGTON POST – Forget the soul – it turns out the eyes may be the best window to the brain.
Changes to the retina may foreshadow Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, and researchers said a picture of your eye could assess your future risk of neurodegenerative disease.
Pinched off from the brain during embryonic development, the retina contains layers of neurons that seem to experience neurodegenerative disease along with their cousins inside the skull.
The key difference is that these retinal neurons, right against the jellylike vitreous of the eyeball, live and die where scientists can see them.
This $285 eye scan may someday detect Alzheimer s risk. (It also requires plenty of curry flavoring.)
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Researchers have long sought ways to predict whether a patient will develop Alzheimer s or Parkinson s disease, but their current options are costly and impractical. Now, they re exploring whether an inexpensive picture of a patient s eye could accurately assess risk, the
Washington Post s Elizabeth Brown reports.
A need for early detection
Experts and providers say that early detection of a patient s risk for neurodegenerative diseases could support advance planning and potentially help researchers develop treatments.
Early detection is sort of the holy grail, Ron Petersen, director of
Changes in retinas seem to mirror what’s going on in the brain. Researchers say eye tests may eventually lead to early treatments for some neurodegenerative ailments.