Healthy Living

New Research Can Improve Early Diagnosis of Alzheimer's

New breakthroughs in diagnosis research

New breakthroughs in diagnosis research

A study led by Maya Koronyo-Hamaoui, associate professor in the departments of Neurosurgery and Biomedical Sciences at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI) Insight. Lead author Maya and co-researchers at Cedar-Sinai in Los Angeles and NeuroVision Imaging LLC in Sacramento found that Alzheimer’s disease affects the back of the eye, also known as the retina. They adapted a retinal imaging technique that detects the build-up of toxic proteins, known as amyloid-beta deposits. The study revealed that a noninvasive retinal scan can be used to screen individuals at risk of AD and detect signs of AD before patients’ begin to experience symptoms. The findings signify a major advancement towards detecting the onset of AD years earlier.