Lim Jeremiah K H, Li Qiao-Xin, He Zheng, Vingrys Algis J, Wong Vickie H Y, Currier Nicolas, Mullen Jamie, Bui Bang V, Nguyen Christine T O
Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, University of Melbourne Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Melbourne Brain Centre, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health Parkville, VIC, Australia.
Front Neurosci. 2016 Nov 17;10:536. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2016.00536. eCollection 2016.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder resulting in dementia and eventual death. It is the leading cause of dementia and the number of cases are projected to rise in the next few decades. Pathological hallmarks of AD include the presence of hyperphosphorylated tau and amyloid protein deposition. Currently, these pathological biomarkers are detected either through cerebrospinal fluid analysis, brain imaging or post-mortem. Though effective, these methods are not widely available due to issues such as the difficulty in acquiring samples, lack of infrastructure or high cost. Given that the eye possesses clear optics and shares many neural and vascular similarities to the brain, it offers a direct window to cerebral pathology. These unique characteristics lend itself to being a relatively inexpensive biomarker for AD which carries the potential for wide implementation. The development of ocular biomarkers can have far implications in the discovery of treatments which can improve the quality of lives of patients. In this review, we consider the current evidence for ocular biomarkers in AD and explore potential future avenues of research in this area.
阿尔茨海默病（AD）是一种进行性神经退行性疾病，会导致痴呆并最终死亡。它是痴呆的主要病因，预计在未来几十年病例数量将会增加。AD的病理特征包括过度磷酸化tau蛋白的存在和淀粉样蛋白沉积。目前，这些病理生物标志物通过脑脊液分析、脑成像或尸检来检测。尽管这些方法有效，但由于获取样本困难、缺乏基础设施或成本高等问题，它们并未广泛应用。鉴于眼睛具有清晰的光学结构，并且在神经和血管方面与大脑有许多相似之处，它为脑部病理学提供了一个直接的窗口。这些独特的特征使其成为一种相对廉价的AD生物标志物，具有广泛应用的潜力。眼部生物标志物的开发对于发现能够改善患者生活质量的治疗方法可能具有深远影响。在这篇综述中，我们考虑了目前关于AD眼部生物标志物的证据，并探索了该领域未来潜在的研究途径。
