The untapped potential of retinal imaging in neurodegenerative disorders
Oct 2022: We are using advanced retinal imaging with computational analysis to investigate 'the eye as a window to the brain'.
There is an unmet need among people with neurodegenerative conditions for new tests to help with diagnosis, to monitor progression, guide treatment choice, and to evaluate the effect of novel treatments or drugs in clinical trials. The brain is inaccessible, so we need new tests that are quick, accurate, non-invasive and inexpensive.
We are using research to try to unlock the potential of the retina as an accessible part of the human nervous system where we can study nerve cells and small blood vessels. With similarities between the retina and the brain in the composition and structure of cells and vessels, and how they react to their environment, the eye provides a unique “window” to neurodegeneration.
An inter-disciplinary team of scientists and clinicians in Edinburgh brings world-leading expertise in the retina combined with computational analysis to maximise the information provided by ophthalmic imaging techniques and produce a more complete examination of the back of the eye.
The team has already uncovered evidence of retinal 'signatures' of multiple sclerosis, motor neuron disease, dementia, and stroke.
In a recent publication in the journal BMJ Open Ophthalmology, the team has described using retinal imaging to assess some of the participants in the FutureMS study. FutureMS is following a cohort of 440 people from across Scotland who were diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS. Overall, the study aims to personalise disease course and treatment planning by developing predictive tools, removing some of the uncertainty that a diagnosis of MS can bring.
In this study, nearly 150 FutureMS participants generously agreed to undergo an eye test, retinal imaging and a questionnaire, at two time-points: soon after their diagnosis with MS and then again a year later. The encouraging results suggest that this tool might be a useful way to develop models to help in the diagnosis and management of MS.
Related links
Image credit: Jamie Burke