An eye test in your 40s could detect Alzheimer risk

ROUTINE eye tests could help identify people in their 40s who are at risk of Alzheimer’s disease decades before their symptoms develop.

Researchers have detected evidence of the disease in patients showing no signs of memory problems or confusion – with a scanner like those used by opticians. The technique – OCTA – produces 3D images of the back of the eyeball.

US scientists at Washington University in St Louis found that those with thinning of the retina had dangerous levels of two rogue proteins in the brain that lead to dementia. These ‘plaques’ of amyloid beta and tau destroy neurons.

The team, whose study is published in the journal JAMA Opthalmology, tested patients in their 70s. But one of the researchers, Professor Gregory Van Stavern, said that it may be possible to use the eye test to screen people in their 40s or 50s to see if they are at risk. More testing would be needed to confirm dementia.

It could revolutionise the treatment of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia by ensuring patients are given drugs early when they are more likely to work.