The possible onset of Alzheimer’s disease can be detected through eye tests and a decreasing sense of smell, as demonstrated by four researches revealed during this year’s Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) in Copenhagen.
Two studies showed that eye examinations could signify a beta-amyloid build-up in the brain. Beta-amyloid is a protein linked to Alzheimer’s and primary component in the sticky brain plaques typical of the disease. It builds up in human brain years before the usual symptoms of the disease appear such as memory loss and other related cognitive problems.
Along with colleagues, Shaun Frost of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Australia reveals the initial results of a set of trials made on volunteers involved in the study.
"If further research shows that our initial findings are correct, it could potentially be delivered as part of an individual's regular eye check-up. The high resolution level of our images could also allow accurate monitoring of individual retinal plaques as a possible method to follow progression and response to therapy,” says Frost in a statement.
The other two researches illustrated that a reduced sense of smell could imply the development of Alzheimer’s and cognitive impairment. When the disease is destroying brain cells, the cells considered imperative to our sense of smell are also included.
"Our research suggests that there may be a role for smell identification testing in clinically normal, older individuals who are at risk for Alzheimer's disease," Matthew E. Growdon, B.A., M.D./M.P.H. candidate at Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School, says in a statement. "For example, it may prove useful to identify proper candidates for more expensive or invasive tests.”
Growdon says their finds are indeed promising but must still be interpreted with utmost caution because further research is yet needed to give a better idea that olfactory testing may be of use in the early detection of the disease.
Heather Snyder, Ph.D., AAIC director of Medical and Scientific Operations director at AAIC, says the four studies showed the possible ways of early detection of the disease in a research setting, but more research is still needed in this particular area.
"In the face of the growing worldwide Alzheimer's disease epidemic, there is a pressing need for simple, less invasive diagnostic tests that will identify the risk of Alzheimer's much earlier in the disease process," Snyder says.
At present, Alzheimer’s disease is only detectable later in life, when a vital damage in the brain was already observed, unlike in biological markers when clinical experts may have the ability to detect the disease early on.
