Valenti Denise A
Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, Braintree, Massachusetts, USA.
Optometry. 2010 Jan;81(1):12-21. doi: 10.1016/j.optm.2009.04.101.
Ten million baby boomers in the United States will get Alzheimer's disease. Optometrists can benefit from understanding the impact the Alzheimer's disease process has on the visual system. This can result in more effective management of the condition and in more effective communication with members of the Alzheimer's disease multidisciplinary team.
This is a review of the literature but by no means a completely exhaustive review. Alzheimer's disease is a complex disease. A rapidly expanding body of knowledge covers multiple disciplines.
The visual system shows deficits early in the degenerative process of Alzheimer's disease. Biomarkers through the visual system such as nerve fiber deficits, lens opacities, and functional losses in the magnocellular pathway, such as contrast sensitivity and temporal processing, may prove to not only help detect Alzheimer's disease early but also detect it before there are the classic cognitive and memory losses.
The effects of Alzheimer's disease are devastating. Optometrists, as primary care clinicians, can make critical contributions in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of this neurodegenerative disease.
美国有1000万婴儿潮一代将会患上阿尔茨海默病。验光师若能了解阿尔茨海默病进程对视觉系统的影响，将会从中受益。这有助于更有效地管理病情，并与阿尔茨海默病多学科团队成员进行更有效的沟通。
这是一篇文献综述，但绝非全面详尽的综述。阿尔茨海默病是一种复杂的疾病。迅速扩充的知识体系涵盖多个学科。
在阿尔茨海默病的退行性病变过程早期，视觉系统就会出现功能缺陷。通过视觉系统检测生物标志物，如神经纤维缺陷、晶状体混浊，以及大细胞通路中的功能丧失，如对比敏感度和时间处理能力，可能不仅有助于早期检测阿尔茨海默病，还能在出现典型的认知和记忆丧失之前检测到该病。
阿尔茨海默病的影响具有毁灭性。验光师作为初级保健临床医生，可为这种神经退行性疾病的诊断、治疗和管理做出重要贡献。
