Open AccessUse of eye biomarkers in pre-clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease
Author(s) -
Luísa França de Faria,
Fernanda Roberti Gil de Paula,
Gabriel Roncalli Soalheiro Prado Alves,
Luiz Filipe de Oliveira Braga,
Lilian Caiafa Ferreira Machado,
Nathália Polliana Rodrigues Melgaço,
Rafaela Charles Correia,
Vitória Cunha,
Daiane Magalhães
Publication year - 2021
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Conference proceedings
DOI - 10.5327/1516-3180.259
Subject(s) - retina , medicine , disease , retinal , pathology , optical coherence tomography , etiology , macular degeneration , neuro ophthalmology , neuroimaging , ophthalmology , neuroscience , bioinformatics , psychology , biology , glaucoma , psychiatry
Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has an unknown etiology, but the main pathophysiological hypothesis consists of the accumulation of extracellular beta- amyloid (Aβ) plaques and the formation of intracellular neurofibrillary tangles of phosphorylated tau1,2. As brain changes follow the appearance of clinical symptoms, there is a difficulty in making the diagnosis and early treatment3,4. The detection of biomarkers in the retina guaranteed the preclinical diagnosis of AD, in an efficient and economical way5. Objectives: To highlight the application of ocular biomarkers in the early diagnosis of AD. Methods: This is a narrative review with search in the sources PubMed, Cochrane and TripDatabase using descriptors: “Alzheimer Disease”, “Biomarkers” and “Retina”. Seven articles were used, published from 2017 to 2021. Results: In patients with pre-clinical AD, accumulation of Aβ was detected with the formation of specifically smaller retinal plaques when compared to brain plaques, but quantitatively equivalent to the load of this protein in the brain and the severity of this pathology6. Thus, associated with the great advance in retinal imaging exams, AD can be diagnosed early by analyzing the structure of the retina and ocular blood flow in a non-invasive and efficient manner5,7. Instruments and systems for conducting eye exams, such as optical coherence tomography and retinography, are increasingly present in medical services, which makes it possible to carry out regular and constant tests in the population1,5. Conclusions: Further studies are required to verify the long- term application of ocular biomarkers in medical practice.