Centre for Eye Research Australia, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, East Melbourne, 3002, VIC, Australia.
Ophthalmology, Department of Surgery, University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3010, VIC, Australia.
Nat Commun. 2019 Sep 17;10(1):4227. doi: 10.1038/s41467-019-12242-1.
Studies of rodent models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and of human tissues suggest that the retinal changes that occur in AD, including the accumulation of amyloid beta (Aβ), may serve as surrogate markers of brain Aβ levels. As Aβ has a wavelength-dependent effect on light scatter, we investigate the potential for in vivo retinal hyperspectral imaging to serve as a biomarker of brain Aβ. Significant differences in the retinal reflectance spectra are found between individuals with high Aβ burden on brain PET imaging and mild cognitive impairment (n = 15), and age-matched PET-negative controls (n = 20). Retinal imaging scores are correlated with brain Aβ loads. The findings are validated in an independent cohort, using a second hyperspectral camera. A similar spectral difference is found between control and 5xFAD transgenic mice that accumulate Aβ in the brain and retina. These findings indicate that retinal hyperspectral imaging may predict brain Aβ load.
阿尔茨海默病（AD）的啮齿动物模型研究和人体组织研究表明，AD 中发生的视网膜变化，包括淀粉样β（Aβ）的积累，可能作为脑 Aβ 水平的替代标志物。由于 Aβ 对光散射有波长依赖性的影响，我们研究了体内视网膜高光谱成像作为脑 Aβ 生物标志物的潜力。在脑 PET 成像上 Aβ 负荷高的人和有轻度认知障碍（n=15）以及年龄匹配的 PET 阴性对照组（n=20）之间，视网膜反射光谱存在显著差异。视网膜成像评分与脑 Aβ 负荷相关。在使用第二台高光谱相机的独立队列中验证了这些发现。在大脑和视网膜中积累 Aβ 的 5xFAD 转基因小鼠中也发现了类似的光谱差异。这些发现表明，视网膜高光谱成像可能预测脑 Aβ 负荷。
