A simple eye examination and retinal imaging test may help improve diagnosis of a progressive neurodegenerative condition called frontotemporal degeneration (FTD).
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Neurodegenerative diseases:
- Neurodegenerative diseases in general are challenging to diagnose.
- And often are confirmed only by direct examination of brain tissue at autopsy.
- In a study the scientists found that patients with FTD showed thinning of the outer retina.
- In addition, the layers with the photoreceptors through which we see – compared to control participants.
- The retina is potentially affected by neurodegenerative disorders because it is a projection of the brain.
- Prior studies have suggested that patients with Alzheimer’s disease and ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis).
- May also have thinning of the retina – although a different part of the retina.
- Thus, imaging the retina may help doctors confirm or rule out frontotemporal degeneration.
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According to Researchers:
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- Our finding of outer retina thinning in this carefully designed.
- Study suggests that specific brain pathologies may mirrored by specific retinal abnormalities.
- The study included a small group of FTD patients and another control group who did not have any neurodegenerative disease.
- The FTD patients were carefully characterised with clinical examinations, cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers to exclude Alzheimer’s Disease, and genetic testing.
- The researchers then employed an eye-imaging technology called spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT).
- In addition,which uses a safe light beam to image tissue with micron-level resolution. SD-OCT imaging is inexpensive, non-invasive, and quick.
- Measurements of the retinal layers of the participants.
- In addition,after adjustments for age, gender, and ethnic background.
- Showed that the outer retinas of the FTD patients were thinner than those in the control participants.
- This relative thinning of outer retinas was caused by a thinning of two specific portions of the outer retina, the outer nuclear layer (ONL) and ellipsoid zone (EZ).
- The outer nuclear layer of FTD patients was about 10 per cent thinner than controls.
- And this ONL thinning was the primary source of the outer retina thinning, the study added.