Eye Exam Could Help in Detecting Parkinson’s Disease Early, Study Suggests

New research suggests that a simple examination of the retina could provide an early diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. Universite Laval researchers conducted this study and their findings appeared in the Neurobiology of Disease journal.

According to the researchers, the retinas of individuals having Parkinson’s don’t respond in the same way to light stimulus as those of individuals without the disease.

Prof. Martin Levesque, the study leader, explains that currently, people are only diagnosed with Parkinson’s after consulting their doctor regarding tremors and other motor problems. By this time, Levesque adds, the disease has progressed to such an extent that central nervous system neurons have suffered irreparable damage and the degeneration process is on an irreversible track.

Levesque says it is therefore important to find ways to identify biomarkers which can help to detect the condition early so that meaningful interventions can be instituted to forestall disease progression.

Prof. Levesque argues that the retina can provide non-invasive ways to study the brain since the eyes are direct extensions of one’s CNS. When the retina responds atypically to light stimulation, it could be suggestive of pathology compromising the functioning of the brain, he asserts.

To test their theory, the team of researchers recruited 20 individuals that had received a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis not more than five years earlier. An electrode was then placed on the lower eyelid of each participant. This recorded how the retina responded to several light flashes. The flashes varied in terms of their color, frequency and intensity.

The researchers also conducted this test on healthy individuals whose age matched that of those having the disease. The data showed that healthy individuals had a distinct retinal response signature different from that obtained from the patients.

They then conducted a similar test on healthy mice and mice engineered to express proteins linked to Parkinson’s. The healthy mice exhibited a response signature similar to that of healthy humans and the mice with Parkinson’s proteins showed a similar response signature to that of patients with Parkinson’s. This provided proof that retinal examinations could reveal the functional dysfunctions linked to PD development.

Levesque says people aged at least 50 could undergo routine retinal examinations to screen them for Parkinson’s. The test can also be used to monitor how patients are responding to the treatments provided and how the disease is progressing. Early diagnosis could also enable timely intervention to avert debilitating neuron damage before it becomes irreversible.

Promising developments like such a simple test to detect PD early are happening at a time when various entities like Clene Inc. (NASDAQ: CLNN) are also making progress in their quest to bring to market treatments which slow down neuron damage. A time is soon coming when the progression of this disease could be slowed and, hopefully, even reversed.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Clene Inc. (NASDAQ: CLNN) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/CLNN

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