A protein that has the role of marker for the diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases has also been identified in the fluid inside the eye. This is shown by a study, published in Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy, which could help speed up the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
These diseases, to date, have no cures but only therapies to contain the symptoms. However, once the latter manifest it means that the disease is already progressing. An early diagnosis is therefore essential to better treat the patient and before the brain is damaged.
In this study, the researchers collected samples of vitreous humor, the clear, jelly-like mass that fills the eye, from 77 patients who had previously scheduled eye surgeries at Boston Medical Center.
The results showed that all 77 patients had neurofilament light chain in their vitreous humor, and higher levels of this protein were associated with higher levels of other Alzheimer’s associated biomarkers, such as amyloid-B and tau proteins ( already detected in cerebrospinal fluid and blood).
“The eye can provide important information about what is happening in the brain,” says Manju Subramanian, surgeon, first author of the study and associate professor of ophthalmology at Boston University School of Medicine. “We hope these results will add another way to detect the presence of diseases before neurodegeneration causes irreversible damage. The sooner we can diagnose these diseases – he concludes – the better the patients will be”.
(Unioneonline / vl)
–
