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joshua armstrong, a research scientist for the alzheimer society of canada , says he’ll never forget walking up to his grandmother’s house and seeing her look at him like he was a stranger. she had late onset alzheimer’s disease in her late 70s. as his mom ages, she’s very worried about developing alzheimer’s herself, with genetics playing a role in heightened risk of the disease.
“what we understand about alzheimer’s disease is that many changes going on in the brain are happening years if not decades before you see any symptoms,” says armstrong, who leads the alzheimer society’s landmark study which released its first report last september that looks at rising incidence and the power of risk reduction.
alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia, and it becomes more severe over time, impacting things like memory, mood, language and judgment, and physical abilities including coordination, bladder control and walking. estimates suggest there are almost 600,000 canadians living with alzheimer’s today.
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cnn recently reported on a new study in the journal acta neuropathologica where researchers at cedars-sinai medical center in los angeles looked at human donor tissue from the eye and the brain. certain changes in the retina, the layer at the back of the eye, corresponded with changes in the brain and cognitive function. they compared tissues samples of those with normal cognitive function to those with mild cognitive impairment and those with later-stage alzheimer’s disease.
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researchers in canada are also shedding light on the brain-eye connection and alzheimer’s early detection. dr. sandra black, a cognitive neurologist and senior scientist at sunnybrook research institute in toronto , is a pioneer in the field. her lab has focused on eyes and how they reflect brain health.
her team has studied blood vessels in the eye to determine early signs of cognitive decline, and a current project with the ontario neurodegeneration research initiative involves measuring the thickness of different layers in the eye in relation to what’s going on in the brain.
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she’s collaborating with montreal-based optina diagnostics, inc. which uses amyloid positron emission tomography (pet) scans to visualize plaques in the brain in patients. the plaques light up on the scan of the brain. the company also used special imaging to look for amyloids in the eyes and found a significant correlation. next up is the development of a camera for detection of amyloids in the eyes that could be on the market in the next year or two for eye specialists to use in routine eye exams.
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