Researchers in their quest to find new testing for Alzheimer’s disease are trying new and innovative methods to detect the disease much earlier.  We’ve heard recent word of simple blood testing showing promising results.  At the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, some exciting research was presented highlighting the potential of new vision testing that can determine if someone has Alzheimer’s disease.

This potential new testing is based upon previous research and known factors that cause the disease.  There are certain brain-clogging proteins which are hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease.  These same proteins can be seen in the back of someone’s eye.  This new vision test can detect signs of the disease 15 to 20 years before the onset of clinical symptoms.

Preliminary data on 40 trial subjects showed amyloid levels in the retina of a person’s eye correlated closely with amyloid levels in the brain as revealed by PET (positron emission tomography) scans.  The astonishing stat coming from this study is that the retinal imaging was able to tell subjects with Alzheimer’s disease from those without the disease with 100 percent sensitivity and 80.6 percent specificity.  If true, this new testing could be a massive breakthrough in the battle against the disease.

If a retinal test proves to be accurate in the detection of Alzheimer’s disease, it could drastically change the way Alzheimer’s is diagnosed. “Presently the tests that are used in clinical trials are PET scan of the brain and CSF via lumbar puncture to measure levels of amyloid and tau,” says CEO NeuroVision CEO Steven Verdooner. “Our retinal imaging test is expected to be meaningfully less expensive than a PET scan, is noninvasive, and potentially more sensitive.”

To find out more about this study, please click here.