Eye test to detect dementia

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It can spot build-up of a protein in the retina that is often a precursor of the brain disease.

Scientists believe spotting the protein amyloid beta could allow for vital preventative treatment.

Neurosurgeon Professor Maya Koronyo-Hamaoui, of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, in the US, where the study was carried out, said Alzheimer’s victims had more than twice the amount of the protein in their retinas as normal.

Prof KoronyoHamaoui added: “The test could define at-risk populations.”

Drugs and lifestyle changes are more likely to be effective in the disease’s early stages although there is no cure for it.

The findings were published in the journal JCI Insight.