Dataset Information

Changes in visual function and retinal structure in the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) can cause degeneration in the retina and optic nerve either directly, as a result of amyloid beta deposits, or secondarily, as a result of the degradation of the visual cortex. These effects raise the possibility that tracking ophthalmologic changes in the retina can be used to assess neurodegeneration in AD. This study aimed to detect retinal changes and associated functional changes in three groups of patients consisting of AD patients with mild disease, AD patients with moderate disease and healthy controls by using non-invasive psychophysical ophthalmological tests and optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Methods

We included 39 patients with mild AD, 21 patients with moderate AD and 40 age-matched healthy controls. Both patients and controls were ophthalmologically healthy. Visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, colour perception, visual integration, and choroidal thicknesses were measured. In addition, OCT and OCT angiography (OCTA) were applied.

Findings

Visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, colour perception, and visual integration were significantly lower in AD patients than in healthy controls. Compared to healthy controls, macular thinning in the central region was significant in the mild AD patients, while macular thickening in the central region was found in the moderate AD group. The analysis of macular layers revealed significant thinning of the retinal nerve fibre layer, the ganglion cell layer and the outer plexiform layer in AD patients relative to controls. Conversely, significant thickening was observed in the outer nuclear layer of the patients. However, mild AD was associated with significant thinning of the subfovea and the nasal and inferior sectors of the choroid. Significant superonasal and inferotemporal peripapillary thinning was observed in patients with moderate disease.

Conclusions

The first changes in the mild AD patients appear in the psychophysical tests and in the central macula with a decrease in the central retinal thickness. When there was a disease progression to moderate AD, psychophysical tests remained stable with respect to the decrease in mild AD, but significant thinning in the peripapillary retina and thickening in the central retina appeared. The presence of AD is best indicated based on contrast sensitivity.

SUBMITTER: Salobrar-Garcia E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6695171 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Changes in visual function and retinal structure in the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

Salobrar-García Elena E de Hoz Rosa R Ramírez Ana I AI López-Cuenca Inés I Rojas Pilar P Vazirani Ravi R Amarante Carla C Yubero Raquel R Gil Pedro P Pinazo-Durán María D MD Salazar Juan J JJ Ramírez José M JM

PloS one 20190815 8

<h4>Background</h4>Alzheimer's Disease (AD) can cause degeneration in the retina and optic nerve either directly, as a result of amyloid beta deposits, or secondarily, as a result of the degradation of the visual cortex. These effects raise the possibility that tracking ophthalmologic changes in the retina can be used to assess neurodegeneration in AD. This study aimed to detect retinal changes and associated functional changes in three groups of patients consisting of AD patients with mild dise ...[more]

PMID: 31415594

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundA great body of evidence suggests that there are retinal functional and structural changes that occur in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, whether such changes are primary or secondary remains to be elucidated. We studied a range of retinal functional and structural parameters in association with AD- specific pathophysiological markers in the double transgenic APP/PS1 and control mice across age.MethodsElectroretinogram (ERG) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) was performed in APP/PS1 and wild type (WT) control mice every 3 months from 3 to 12?months of age. For functional assessment, the a- and b-wave of the ERG, amplitude of oscillatory potentials (OP) and the positive scotopic threshold response (pSTR) were quantified at each time point. For structural assessment, the inner and outer retinal thickness was segmented and measured from OCT scans. Episodic memory was evaluated at 6, 9 and 12?months of age using the novel object recognition test. Amyloid beta (A?) distribution in the hippocampus and the retina were visualised at 3, 6 and 12?months of age. Inter- and intra- group analysis was performed to study rate of change for each parameter between the two groups.ResultsInter-group analysis revealed a significant difference in b-wave and OPs of APP/PS1 compared to WT controls starting from 3?months (p?<?0.001). There was also a significant difference in the amplitude of pSTR between the two groups starting from 6?months (p?<?0.001). Furthermore, a significant difference in the inner retinal thickness, between the two groups, was observed starting from 9?months (p?<?0.001).ConclusionsWe observed an age-related decline in retinal functional and structural parameters in both APP/PS1 and WT controls, however, inter-group analysis revealed that inner retinal functional and structural decline is exacerbated in APP/PS1 mice, and that retinal functional changes precede structural changes in this strain. Further studies are required to confirm whether such phenomenon occurs in humans and if studying retinal functional changes can aid-in early assessment of AD.

Dataset Information

Changes in visual function and retinal structure in the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

Background

Methods

Findings

Conclusions

Publications

Changes in visual function and retinal structure in the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

Similar Datasets

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