Retinal pathology in Alzheimer's disease. I. Ganglion cell loss in foveal/parafoveal retina

Blanks, Janet C.; Torigoe, Yasuhiro; Hinton, David R.; Blanks, Robert H. I.

doi:10.1016/0197-4580(96)00010-3

Cited by 298 publications

(261 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…7). A postmortem study by Blanks et al [141] demonstrated a 25% decrease in RGC at the level of the foveal and parafoveal retina, while other studies have found no significant changes [144][145]. Further research is needed to confirm the RGC loss in AD, to establish any connection with Aβ in the retina and to confirm whether RGC loss is a cause of visual impairment in AD.…”

Section: (Figure 4)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Other studies have also found abnormal PERG responses in AD [137][138]. The loss of RNFL thickness in AD is linked to a depletion of retinal ganglion cells (RGC) and optic nerve axons as identified by histopathological studies [61,[139][140][141][142][143]. RGCs are the final common pathway that transfer visual information through the retinal nerve fibres and then the optic nerve into the brain (Fig.…”

Section: (Figure 4)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ocular Biomarkers for Early Detection of Alzheimer's Disease

Frost

Martins

Kanagasingam

2010

JAD

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and is characterized clinically by a progressive decline in memory, learning and executive function and neuropathologically by the presence of cerebral amyloid deposits. Despite a century of research, there is still no cure or conclusive pre-mortem diagnosis for the disease. A number of symptom-modifying drugs for AD have been developed, but their efficacy is minimal and short-lived. AD cognitive symptoms arise only after significant, irreversible neural deterioration has occurred, hence there is an urgent need to detect AD early, before the onset of cognitive symptoms. An accurate, early diagnostic test for AD would enable current and future treatments to be more effective, as well as contribute to the development of new treatments.While most AD related pathology occurs in the brain, the disease has also been reported to affect the eye, which is more accessible for imaging than the brain. AD-related proteins exist in the normal human eye and may produce ocular pathology in AD. There is some homology between the retinal and cerebral vasculatures and the retina also contains nerve cells and fibers that form a sensory extension of the brain. The eye is the only place in the body where vasculature or neural tissue is available for non-invasive optical imaging. This article presents a review of current literature on ocular morphology in AD and discusses the potential for an ocular based screening test for AD.

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Section: (Figure 4)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: (Figure 4)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Ocular Biomarkers for Early Detection of Alzheimer's Disease

Frost

Martins

Kanagasingam

2010

JAD

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“…Hinton et al first provided histopathological evidence of optic neuropathy and degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGC) in patients with AD, with a reduced number of RGCs and reduced retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness [23]. Later, post-mortem studies showed that degeneration of the ganglion cell layer (GCL) occurs preferentially in superior and inferior quadrants, as well as in the central retina, in particular the temporal foveal region [24,25]. Initially, a preferential loss of magnocellular RGC axons in the optic nerve was described [26], but other evidence suggests parvocellular RGC axon loss also takes place in AD [17].…”

Section: Pathological Changes In the Retina And Optic Nervementioning

confidence: 99%

Alzheimer’s disease: A review of its visual system neuropathology. Optical coherence tomography—a potential role as a study tool in vivo

Cunha

Moura-Coelho

Proença

et al. 2016

Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a prevalent, long-term progressive degenerative disorder with great social impact. It is currently thought that, in addition to neurodegeneration, vascular changes also play a role in the pathophysiology of the disease. Visual symptoms are frequent and are an early clinical manifestation; a number of psychophysiologic changes occur in visual function, including visual field defects, abnormal contrast sensitivity, abnormalities in color vision, depth perception deficits, and motion detection abnormalities. These visual changes were initially believed to be solely due to neurodegeneration in the posterior visual pathway. However, evidence from pathology studies in both animal models of AD and humans has demonstrated that neurodegeneration also takes place in the anterior visual pathway, with involvement of the retinal ganglion cells' (RGCs) dendrites, somata, and axons in the optic nerve. These studies additionally showed that patients with AD have changes in retinal and choroidal microvasculature. Pathology findings have been corroborated in in-vivo assessment of the retina and optic nerve head (ONH), as well as the retinal and choroidal vasculature. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) in particular has shown great utility in the assessment of these changes, and it may become a useful tool for early detection and monitoring disease progression in AD. The authors make a review of the current understanding of retinal and choroidal pathological changes in patients with AD, with particular focus on invivo evidence of retinal and choroidal neurodegenerative and microvascular changes using OCT technology.

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“…Further work from the same group corroborated the findings, reporting a 25% total reduction in the GCL in the foveal and parafoveal retina, with the greatest reduction of 52% being observed in the temporal region of the fovea. 93 Neuronal loss appeared most prominent in the superior and inferior quadrants. 94 These findings are consistent with the clinical case-control series reported above of greater loss in the superior and inferior quadrants in AD patients compared with controls.…”

Section: The Ganglion Cell Layer In Admentioning

confidence: 99%

“…93 Neuronal loss appeared most prominent in the superior and inferior quadrants. 94 These findings are consistent with the clinical case-control series reported above of greater loss in the superior and inferior quadrants in AD patients compared with controls.…”

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How strong is the relationship between glaucoma, the retinal nerve fibre layer, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis?

Jones-Odeh

Hammond

2015

Eye

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Glaucoma is a neurodegenerative disorder with established relationships with ocular structures such as the retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) and the ganglion cell layer (GCL). Ocular imaging techniques such as optical coherence tomography (OCT) allow for quantitative measurement of these structures. OCT has been used in the monitoring of glaucoma, as well as investigating other neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and multiple sclerosis (MS). In this review, we highlight the association between these disorders and ocular structures (RNFL and GCL), examining their usefulness as biomarkers of neurodegeneration. The average RNFL thickness loss in patients with AD is 11 μm, and 7 μm in MS patients. Most of the studies investigating these changes are cross-sectional. Further longitudinal studies are required to assess sensitivity and specificity of these potential ocular biomarkers to neurodegenerative disease progression. Eye (2015Eye ( ) 29, 1270Eye ( -1284 doi:10.1038/eye.2015; published online 4 September 2015 IntroductionGlaucoma is a neurodegenerative optic neuropathy manifesting with progressive retinal ganglion cell (RGC) and axonal loss, which can result in visual field defects and blindness because of permanent cellular and neuronal damage. Subjective clinical examination of the optic nerve head (ONH) allows for assessment and monitoring of the structural changes associated with glaucoma. However, objective detection of defects in the peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) by ophthalmoscopy is difficult. The relationship between glaucoma progression and the structural changes observed at the ONH, RGC layer, and RNFL in glaucoma is well established. [1][2][3][4] Early diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma is vital to maintain visual field, as loss of RGCs is irreversible, 5 and even before any detectable visual field defects, there is a substantial loss of RGCs. Morphological abnormalities can develop 3-5 years before any functional loss is detected. 6 Since the introduction of ocular imaging techniques such as optical coherence tomography (OCT), peripapillary RNFL thickness measurements have been used for the detection and monitoring of glaucoma. 7,8 However, the use of OCT has extended beyond RNFL measurements for glaucoma, and has also been used in the investigation of other neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) 9-11 and multiple sclerosis (MS). [12][13][14] In addition, given the similarities of brain and retinal foetal angiogenesis, 15,16 retinal microvasculature has also been investigated as a biomarker of changes in cerebral vasculature and cognitive decline. [17][18][19] In this review, we examine the relationships between glaucoma, neurodegenerative disease, and cognitive impairment, and the use of RNFL thickness and RGC loss as potential ocular biomarkers for neurodegenerative disorders such as AD and MS. We review the strength of associations between RNFL and RGC and Eye (2015Eye ( ) 29, 1270Eye ( -1284Eye ( © 2015 Macmillan Publis...

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Retinal pathology in Alzheimer's disease. I. Ganglion cell loss in foveal/parafoveal retina

Cited by 298 publications

References 38 publications

Ocular Biomarkers for Early Detection of Alzheimer's Disease

Ocular Biomarkers for Early Detection of Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer’s disease: A review of its visual system neuropathology. Optical coherence tomography—a potential role as a study tool in vivo

How strong is the relationship between glaucoma, the retinal nerve fibre layer, and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and multiple sclerosis?

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