Visual Neurosciences, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London UK.
Curr Alzheimer Res. 2010 Feb;7(1):3-14. doi: 10.2174/156720510790274491.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the major cause of dementia in the world. Although the entorhinal cortex and hippocampal complex are best known as the sites of early pathology in AD, increasing evidence shows that the eye, particularly the retina, is also affected. The AD-related changes in the retina are associated with degeneration and loss of neurons, reduction of the retinal nerve fibres, increase in optic disc cupping, retinal vascular tortusity and thinning, and visual functional impairment. Given the fact that evaluating pathologic changes in the brain during life has always been an indirect process, largely shielded from view by the barrier of the skull, the eye can be used as a window into diseases of the brain. Using modern techniques, the changes in the retina can be visualized in real-time. In addition to the changes in the eyes of AD patients, similar mechanisms of neurodegeneration in the brain have also been demonstrated in the eye. Targeting AD-liked changes in the retina has been recently shown to be effective in the reduction of retinal neuronal degeneration and loss in eye diseases. This review will cover recent findings on retinal degeneration in AD, pathological similarities between AD and eye diseases, and highlight the potential of modern technologies for the detection of prospective biomarkers in the eye in early AD.
阿尔茨海默病（AD）是世界上痴呆症的主要病因。尽管内嗅皮层和海马体复合体是 AD 早期病理学的主要部位，但越来越多的证据表明，眼睛，特别是视网膜，也受到影响。AD 相关的视网膜变化与神经元变性和丧失、视网膜神经纤维减少、视盘杯状加深、视网膜血管扭曲和变薄以及视觉功能障碍有关。鉴于在有生之年评估大脑中的病理变化一直是一个间接的过程，在很大程度上受到头骨屏障的阻碍，眼睛可以作为观察大脑疾病的窗口。使用现代技术，可以实时观察到视网膜的变化。除了 AD 患者眼睛的变化外，在眼睛中也已经证明了大脑中类似的神经退行性变化机制。最近的研究表明，针对视网膜中的 AD 样变化可有效减少眼部疾病中视网膜神经元的变性和丧失。本综述将涵盖 AD 中视网膜变性的最新发现、AD 与眼部疾病之间的病理相似性，并强调现代技术在早期 AD 中检测潜在的眼部前瞻性生物标志物的潜力。
