Could an eye exam diagnose Parkinson’s?
Canadian researchers are developing an entirely new way to diagnose Parkinson’s- a progressive disorder with no cure.
Scientists are looking for signs of the disease in an unexpected place: the eye.
The retinas of patients who suffer from Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases seem to undergo subtle changes before outward symptoms show.
There’s evidence to suggest that nerve cell death in the brains of patients also happens in the retina.
The Ontario Neurodegenerative Disease Research Initiative, a collaboration of more than 50 Canadian researchers, are tracking 600 patients, comparing changes in the retina over time.
Advances in imaging, even over the last 12 months, are huge, and could one day help doctors pinpoint who’s at risk before clinical symptoms start to appear, and pave the way for new treatments.
