Rhodes Island’s Medical Industry Players Works Cooperatively to Identify a Way to Detect Alzheimer’s disease on Earlier Stage
(Photo : Reuters)

One of the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease is memory loss. The disease causes a decline in memory retention and the reasoning abilities of a person. There are numerous articles found on the internet and other academic papers that discuss the different symptoms of the disease. 

It had always been a challenge for medical practitioners to diagnose Alzheimer's disease during its early stages. The disease is not normally diagnosed in its early stages because those who go to their doctors saying that they are having problems with memory retention underreport the symptoms they experience.

This is one of the many reasons why the disease is still not diagnosable with a single and specific examination regardless of years' worth of research by multiple medical professionals.

An uncomplicated eye exam is about to undergo a trial for the early detection of Alzheimer's disease. The trial will be primarily facilitated by three institutions namely BayCare Health System, Butler Hospital in Providence, the University of Rhode Island, and fifteen other medical institutions in Florida.

The type of eye test to be used in the trial is called a retinal screening examination. If proven to be of success, this test may be used by multiple eye doctors in the country. This is a cheaper alternative to PET scans. It can detect the accumulation of amyloid plaque in a person's brain. This incident is closely related to the disease before its known symptoms become noticeable. This is an expensive examination and is often not covered by insurance policies.

According to the Vice President of URI, Peter Snyder, after the research, they plan to make the findings available to every medical practitioner. The retinal biomarkers can be spotted through the technology and it is strongly believed to have strong associations with Alzheimer's disease. If doctors see changes, they can suggest to their patients to visit a specialist. Snyder and his co-researchers believe that their study can help lower a patient's cost in testing for the disease. He also shared that there is a possibility of discovering a way to help people diagnose the disease in its most early stage. This will lead to an increased ratio on the drug therapies' effectiveness. This will also allow medical professionals to successfully slow down the progression of the disease.

The research team is eyeing 330 participants to the study age 55 to 80. The participants range from extremely healthy adults and adults with low risks to those with memory retention issues. Those with a mild-version of Alzheimer's disease will also be asked to participate in the study.

The subjects of the study will be observed for 3 years at 4 different periods. The study will comprise of an eye examination, discussion of the medical history of each subject, other examinations to determine the ability of each subject to retain new information. The retinal imaging tool that the study will employ is similar to eye exams performed by most eye doctors. It will also determine the levels of moods of the subject, their balance, sleeping habits, and other medical-related information.

The retinal screening research is proof that Rhode Island is becoming a leading center for the research of Alzheimer's disease.