眼睛可能藏有偵測阿茲海默症關鍵線索

In recent research using mice, experts discovered that changes in the blood vessels of the retina often occur at the same time as changes in the brain. Since the retina is easier to examine than the brain, these findings suggest that simple eye exams might one day help reveal the earliest warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease.

 

As the mice carrying genes linked to Alzheimer’s aged, their retinal vessels showed clear differences. The small capillaries became fewer, arteries narrowed, and veins appeared enlarged or twisted. These patterns closely matched the blood vessel changes inside the brain. What makes this especially important is that the eye changes appeared before major nerve cell damage or memory-related decline.

 

Researchers also compared protein activity in both the brain and the retina, and many Alzheimer’s-related proteins were found in both places. This strengthens the idea that the eye could serve as a reflection of what is happening neurologically. While this is an exciting step, the results so far are limited to animals. More studies in humans are needed to know if the same patterns reliably show up, and whether they can be used as a safe, noninvasive way to catch Alzheimer’s risk long before symptoms appear. 

Research Paper 📄 DOI: 10.1002/alz.70501

 

科學家正發現新方法，在記憶喪失開始前偵測阿茲海默症，而眼睛可能藏有關鍵線索。

近期利用小鼠的研究中，專家發現視網膜血管的變化通常與大腦變化同時發生。由於視網膜比大腦更容易檢查，這些發現顯示簡單的眼科檢查或許有朝一日能幫助揭露阿茲海默症的最早期預警徵兆。

隨著帶有阿茲海默症相關基因的小鼠老化，其視網膜血管呈現明顯差異。細小毛細血管數量減少、動脈變窄，而靜脈則出現擴張或扭曲。這些型態與大腦內部血管變化高度吻合。特別重要的是，眼部變化出現在重大神經細胞損傷或記憶相關衰退之前。 

研究人員還比對了腦部與視網膜的蛋白質活動，發現許多阿茲海默症相關蛋白質在兩處皆有出現。這強化了眼睛可作為神經系統變化鏡像的觀點。 雖然這是一個令人振奮的進展，但目前的實驗結果僅限於動物研究。要確認這些模式是否同樣可靠地出現在人類身上，以及能否作為一種安全、非侵入性的方法，在阿茲海默症症狀出現前許久就偵測到風險，還需要進行更多人體研究。 

研究論文 📄 DOI: 10.1002/alz.70501