Eye conditions provide new lens for screening for Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s disease is difficult to diagnose as well as treat, but researchers now have a promising new screening tool using the window to the brain: the eye.

A study of 3,877 randomly selected patients found a significant link between three degenerative eye diseases – age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma – and Alzheimer’s disease.

The results offer physicians a new way to detect those at higher risk of this disorder, which causes memory loss and other symptoms of cognitive decline.