Alzheimer's researchers: Simple eye exam may bring brain health into focus
MIAMI - June is Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month and CBS News Miami's Special Report, "Illuminating Alzheimer's" is shining a light on everything from caregiver mental health and support to groundbreaking research and treatment.
Most experts will tell you, early detection and management is key, but getting an Alzheimer's diagnosis isn't always easy.
Researchers at a South Florida clinic say a simple eye exam may help bring your brain health into better focus.
"People have said the eyes are the window into the soul. Well, the eyes are a direct look at the brain. You can literally see brain cells by looking at the back of the eye," said Dr. Richard Isaacson, a preventive neurologist and clinical researcher at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases of Florida in Boca Raton.
"When we started looking in the back of the eye, we started seeing different patterns," he said.
"Different patterns of the nerve cells, the retina and the nerve fiber layers. And literally, in a two-minute test, we can take a picture of the back of the eye and the patterns and the architecture and the backgrounds of the eye look different in a person who has no symptoms, a person who has mild symptoms, and a person who has severe dementia symptoms of Alzheimer's disease."
A study published earlier this year in the journal "Acta Neuropathologica" looked at retinal and brain tissue samples from human donors at different stages of mental decline and found changes in the retina correlated to changes in the brain's "memory hub".
Dr. Isaacson says if we're able to identify the disease in its early stages, people can make "brain healthy" choices to control their "modifiable risk factors."
"A cure is tough. But what I can say is, 'prevention is the cure'. If we can diagnose early and diagnose meaning with the risk factors, what the pathology is before symptoms begin, we can give that person a targeted risk reduction plan throughout their life course over decades," Dr. Isaacson said. "That prevention will be that person's cure."
To that end, there's a new research study opening up this summer that can be done from the comfort of your own home and phone.
You can go to RetainYourBrain.com to sign up.
The goal of the study funded by the National Institutes of Health is to help people learn ways to reduce their risk of Alzheimer's disease in a way that's tailored to them.
"We're trying to democratize care. If we can offer a low-cost, easily accessible risk reduction software or education, that's really what we're trying to do to help these populations in need," Dr. Isaacson said. "Alzheimer's is scary. Alzheimer's is serious, but there's hope. There really is hope."
To learn more about the "hope" many experts have for the future, be sure to watch "Illuminating Alzheimer's" Wednesday at 7 p.m. on CBS News Miami.
