Eye exams may detect early Alzheimer's disease, study finds.

A new study suggests that early signals of Alzheimer's disease can be detected through eye exams. Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center found an excess amount of amyloid beta 42, a protein that forms the "plaques" that build up in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s, in the retinas of patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. The changes were also detected in patients who did not display any cognitive decline or had only very mild signs, indicating that retinal tests could help enable early diagnosis. The study could lead to the development of imaging techniques that allow for earlier and more accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.