Study: Eye exam may spot dementia risk in elderly

New developments in the race to zero in on Alzheimer's disease indicators. Research from the University of Melbourne Centre for Eye Research, Australia, indicates that an examination of the blood vessels in the retina of the eye may give a clue to the mental status of elderly people and their risk of developing dementia. As reported in Reuters Health:

The presence of retinal damage, or retinopathy, "is a marker of early damage to the blood vessels in the brain, and is a harbinger of future stroke risk," senior investigator Dr. Tien Yin Wong of the University of Melbourne Centre for Eye Research.

After adjusting for factors such as age, diabetes, and smoking status, subjects with retinopathy had lower scores on a standard test of cognitive status than those without (39 versus 41).

In subjects with high blood pressure, retinopathy doubled the likelihood of having dementia. No such relationship was seen in those without high blood pressure.

The investigators concluded that there is a "modest cross-sectional association between retinopathy signs and poorer cognitive function and, in persons with hypertension, with dementia."

The report was published in the medical journal Stroke.