• Home
  • Contact Us!
  • Privacy Policy

Radio Metta

  • Home
  • Business
  • Education
  • Health
  • Home Deco
  • News
  • Real Estate
  • Technology
  • Contact Us!
  • Privacy Policy
Home» Health»Beware, thinning of the retina may indicate a neurodegenerative condition

Beware, thinning of the retina may indicate a neurodegenerative condition

Loknath Das 11 Sep 2017 Health Comments Off on Beware, thinning of the retina may indicate a neurodegenerative condition 432 Views

Specific brain pathologies are mirrored by retinal abnormalities.

A simple eye examination and retinal imaging test may help improve diagnosis of a progressive neurodegenerative condition called frontotemporal degeneration (FTD). Neurodegenerative diseases in general are challenging to diagnose, and often are confirmed only by direct examination of brain tissue at autopsy.

In a study published online in the journal Neurology, the scientists found that patients with FTD showed thinning of the outer retina — the layers with the photoreceptors through which we see — compared to control participants. The retina is potentially affected by neurodegenerative disorders because it is a projection of the brain.

Prior studies have suggested that patients with Alzheimer’s disease and ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) may also have thinning of the retina — although a different part of the retina. Thus, imaging the retina may help doctors confirm or rule out frontotemporal degeneration. “Our finding of outer retina thinning in this carefully designed study suggests that specific brain pathologies may be mirrored by specific retinal abnormalities,” said study lead author Benjamin Kim, assistant professor of Ophthalmology at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in the US.

The study included a small group of FTD patients and another control group who did not have any neurodegenerative disease. The FTD patients were carefully characterised with clinical examinations, cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers to exclude Alzheimer’s Disease, and genetic testing. The researchers then employed an eye-imaging technology called spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), which uses a safe light beam to image tissue with micron-level resolution. SD-OCT imaging is inexpensive, non-invasive, and quick.

Measurements of the retinal layers of the participants, after adjustments for age, gender, and ethnic background, showed that the outer retinas of the FTD patients were thinner than those in the control participants. This relative thinning of outer retinas was caused by a thinning of two specific portions of the outer retina, the outer nuclear layer (ONL) and ellipsoid zone (EZ). The outer nuclear layer of FTD patients was about 10% thinner than controls, and this ONL thinning was the primary source of the outer retina thinning, the study added.

 

 

[“source=hindustantimes”]

a beware: condition indicate may neurodegenerative of retina the thinning 2017-09-11
Tags a beware: condition indicate may neurodegenerative of retina the thinning
Facebook Twitter Stumble linkedin Pinterest More

Authors

Posted by : Loknath Das
Previous Article :

Respiratory tract infection puts kids at increased asthma risk later in life

Next Article :

Want to be smarter? Include nuts, avocados, olive oil in your diet

Related Articles

Digital Dermatology with Freedom 360: Skin Cancer Checks and Expert Care for Members

Digital Dermatology with Freedom 360: Skin Cancer Checks and Expert Care for Members

admin 15 Sep 2025
How is PSA used to monitor prostate cancer?

How is PSA used to monitor prostate cancer?

admin 01 Sep 2025
Anatomy, Function, and Common Injuries of Hamstring Muscles

Anatomy, Function, and Common Injuries of Hamstring Muscles

admin 12 Aug 2025

Latest Post

Digital Dermatology with Freedom 360: Skin Cancer Checks and Expert Care for Members
Health

Digital Dermatology with Freedom 360: Skin Cancer Checks and Expert Care for Members

admin 15 Sep 2025
Small, Rural Central California High School Continues To Defy Standardized Education
Education

Small, Rural Central California High School Continues To Defy Standardized Education

admin 12 Sep 2025
Speeches delivered by CEO Sundar Pichai at the White House AI Education Taskforce
Education

Speeches delivered by CEO Sundar Pichai at the White House AI Education Taskforce

admin 08 Sep 2025
How is PSA used to monitor prostate cancer?
Health

How is PSA used to monitor prostate cancer?

admin 01 Sep 2025
The Future of High Performance Networking: Ultra Ethernet Explained
Technology

The Future of High Performance Networking: Ultra Ethernet Explained

admin 28 Aug 2025
Why a focus on foundational education must be at the heart of the response: Out of school but not out of reach
Education

Why a focus on foundational education must be at the heart of the response: Out of school but not out of reach

admin 23 Aug 2025
October 2025
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728293031  
« Sep    
  • Home
  • Contact Us!
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright 2016, All Rights Reserved
Magazine Blog News WordPress Theme