“This method could soon become a pre-screening tool for people at risk of disease,” according to the authors.
Your eyes can act as a ‘window’ to the rest of your body and can reveal a lot more than just the risk of high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease including strokes, and diabetes.
Eye scan data has in the past shown indications of various neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis, and, lately, schizophrenia, under the rapidly advancing research domain known as “oculomics.”
Moreover, insights from eye data have revealed predispositions to conditions like high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease, including strokes, and diabetes.
For years, medical experts have understood the eye’s potential as a ‘mirror’ reflecting overall health. Today, high-definition retina images are standard in eye health care, especially the 3D scan technique named ‘optical coherence tomography’ (OCT). Within seconds, OCT offers an incredibly detailed cross-sectional view of the retina, with precision up to a thousandth of a millimeter.
While these images are crucial for monitoring eye well-being, their significance extends beyond. The retina’s scan stands out as the sole non-invasive method to observe cell layers beneath the skin. In recent times, advanced computer systems have begun to process vast volumes of OCT and other eye-related images swiftly. With the advent of AI-driven ‘machine learning’, computers can now discern intricate data about the entire human body from these pictures, and this potential realization is the essence of oculomics.
A joint initiative between UCL and Moorfields Eye Hospital research team has pinpointed signs indicating Parkinson’s disease in individuals about seven years before its clinical onset.
This groundbreaking discovery, presenting evidence of such signs years ahead of diagnosis, owes its success to the most extensive research yet on Parkinson’s disease retinal imaging.
Published in Neurology®, the American Academy of Neurology’s medical journal, the research identified Parkinson’s markers in eye scans using artificial intelligence. The examination of the AlzEye dataset was later cross-checked with the broader UK Biobank dataset, verifying the results.
The combined strength of these extensive datasets empowered the researchers to discern these nuanced markers, despite Parkinson’s disease’s relatively rare occurrence in the population. The development of the AlzEye dataset was facilitated by INSIGHT, boasting the most extensive collection of retinal images paired with clinical data globally.
Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative neurological disorder, is marked by dopamine deficiency. Autopsies on Parkinson’s afflicted patients have unveiled variances in the retina’s INL (inner nuclear layer). Although previous OCT scan studies have hinted at potential anomalies linked with Parkinson’s, results have been inconsistent.
Parkinson’s disease, in itself, isn’t a direct cause of death. However, while it isn’t the direct cause of mortality, the complications stemming from the condition can be life-threatening.
The strain this disease places on the body can increase susceptibility to grave infections that can be fatal.
For instance, a study analyzing the mortality causes of 219 individuals diagnosed with idiopathic Parkinson’s (a term used when the root cause of the disease remains unidentified) indicated that nearly 45% succumbed to pneumonia.
Additionally, the American Parkinson’s Disease Association highlights the dangers of falls for those with Parkinson’s. People suffering from this condition are at a higher risk of falls, which can lead to severe injuries. These falls, along with potential complications from surgeries addressing the injuries, can sometimes be deadly.
Detecting early signs of diseases could provide individuals a head start in adopting preventive lifestyles and enable medical professionals to mitigate the devastating consequences of severe neurodegenerative disorders.
Dr. Siegfried Wagner, the study’s principal contributor from the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital, expressed, “I continue to be amazed by what we can discover through eye scans. While we are not yet ready to predict whether an individual will develop Parkinson’s, we hope that this method could soon become a pre-screening tool for people at risk of the disease.
“Finding signs of a number of diseases before symptoms emerge means that, in the future, people could have the time to make lifestyle changes to prevent some conditions arising, and clinicians could delay the onset and impact of lifechanging neurodegenerative disorders.”
Professor Alistair Denniston, a leading figure at University Hospitals Birmingham, highlighted, “This work demonstrates the potential for eye data, harnessed by the technology to pick up signs and changes too subtle for humans to see. We can now detect very early signs of Parkinson’s, opening up new possibilities for treatment.”
Miss Louisa Wickham of Moorfields emphasized the potential of increasing imaging on a grander scale, noting its benefits for public health and predictive analytics. She also pointed out the advantages of OCT scans over brain scans in terms of accessibility, non-invasiveness, cost-efficiency, and speed.
This research validated earlier findings of a considerably slimmer GCIPL (ganglion cell–inner plexiform layer) and unveiled, for the first time, a reduced INL. The study further deduced that diminished thickness in these layers correlates with an escalated Parkinson’s risk.
There’s a need for more research to establish whether GCIPL thinning is instigated by Parkinson’s-related brain alterations or if INL thinning occurs prior. This exploration could illuminate the underlying mechanisms and ascertain whether retinal imaging can bolster Parkinson’s diagnosis, forecasting, and intricate patient care.
Lastly, the study lacked comprehensive clinical details about Parkinson’s patients, which might have connected retinal modifications to disease longevity or advancement.
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