Lee Goldstein of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School has developed the ability to actually see Alzheimer’s in the eye. His goal is to make the test for this condition something that everyone receives at a yearly check up. Potentially, this would be the ideal way to treat Alzheimer’s as most treatments that are available today are most effective in the early stages of the condition. And, since this test would provide the earliest onset of the condition, it would be one of the fundamental choices for detection.
The test is a simple laser that is used to look into the eyes. It would detect unusual cataracts that are made up of amyloid beta protein, which is the tell tale sign of Alzheimer’s. These plaques that build up in the brain also develop on other areas of the body, including the edge of the eye’s lens. The researchers have found that the only type of pathological molecules that develop here are those that are characteristic of Alzheimer’s condition.
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