Latest news with #AshleighBarrett-Young
The Star
03-05-2025
- Health
- The Star
Detecting dementia through your eye
Changes in the blood vessels at the back of the eye could signal a higher risk of developing dementia. — dpa Veins and arteries at the back of the eye have been found to carry not only blood, but also signals of vulnerability to dementia onset. The presence of potential early warning signs of cognitive decline in veins linking the retina to the brain could help with 'putting together pieces of a puzzle', according to research fellow Dr Ashleigh Barrett-Young of the University of Otago in New Zealand. In a paper published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease , researchers from the University of Otago and the University of Virginia in the United States conclude that 'measures of retinal health, particularly microvascular measures, successfully capture ADRD [Alzheimer's disease and related dementia] risk across several domains of known risk factors'. And while the researchers caution that it is 'premature' for 'real world' application of the potential diagnostic method, they proposed that retinal microvascular imaging could prove to be an 'accessible, scalable and relatively low-cost method of assessing ADRD risk among middle-aged adults'. The team say their scans revealed that a system of narrower arterioles, wider venules and thinner retinal nerve fibre layers carrying visual signals from the retina to the brain were associated with greater dementia risk. 'I was surprised that venules were associated with so many different domains of Alzheimer's disease – that suggests that it might be a particularly useful target for assessing dementia risk,' Dr Barrett-Young says of the 'somewhat unexpected' scan outcome. 'Cognitive tests aren't sensitive enough in the early stages and a person may not be experiencing any decline yet, while other tests, like MRI and PET scanning, are expensive and not widely available,' the researchers say, according to a University of Otago statement. 'Treatments for Alzheimer's and some other forms of dementia may be most effective if they're started early in the disease course,' notes Dr Barrett-Young. – dpa
RNZ News
27-04-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
The link between eye health and dementia
A link between eye health and dementia has been uncovered using data and scans from the Dunedin Longitudinal Study. Researchers at the University of Otago have discovered changes to the blood vessels at the back of the eye may indicate someone is at greater risk of developing dementia. Dr Ashleigh Barrett-Young is the co-lead author of the study. She is a Research Fellow in the Department of Psychology, University of Otago/Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka. Susie asked Ashleigh what researchers have been looking for and what those discoveries mean. Photo: Public domain
Daily Mail
25-04-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
The subtle clue in your EYE that could mean you'll get dementia as young as 45
Blurry vision and seeing spots could means you're at high risk of developing early-onset dementia, researchers have discovered. Experts from New Zealand found that people were far more likely to be diagnosed with the disease in their 60s, 50s an even 40s if the light sensitive tissue at the back of the eye was abnormally thin. This problem is known medically as retinal thinning, and causes distorted vision which includes seeing spots, lines or flashing lights, as well as changes in colour perception. Dementia risk was also raised in those with signs of narrowing arteries and wider veins in the eye, which can cause pain or pressure as well as loss of vision in one eye. The researchers, from the University of Otago, suggested that both problems suggest insufficient blood flow to both the eye and the brain, which could contribute to the development of the memory robbing condition. They added that it could also be a sign of poor circulation throughout the body, which is also a known risk factor for the disease, as well as heart attack and stroke. Thorough eye examinations could therefore be a useful method of targetting those at risk of developing the disease, according to study author and psychology researcher Dr Ashleigh Barrett-Young. Early diagnosis is considered critical for better outcomes as dementia treatments can combat symptoms and slow down progression. For the study, experts analysed data from participants of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, which recorded 45 years of health data from 900 New Zealanders with an average age of 45-years-old. They combined photos and scans of participants' retinas with cognitive tests designed to predict a person's risk of the disease. Assessments were carried out at birth and ages three, five, seven, nine, 11, 13, 15, 18, 21, 26, 32, 38, and most recently at age 45. Results showed those with retinal thinning and poor eye blood vessel health were far more likely to show signs of cognitive decline aged 45 — often a precursor to dementia. The researchers advised that the imaging could be a simple and low-cost method of assessing dementia risk among middle-aged adults. However they warned the test could only show potential risk and is not a definitive diagnosis. Around 900,000 Britons are currently thought to have the memory-robbing disorder. The researchers advised that the imaging could be a simple and low-cost method of assessing Alzheimer's disease and related dementias among middle-aged adults The size of your temporalis muscle, which helps to open and close your jaw, has also been linked to dementia risk. It's estimated that around 7.5 per cent of the 944,000 Britons with the disease have young-onset dementia, where symptoms occur younger than 65. Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia in younger people, accounting for around a third, in comparison to about 60 per cent in those over 65. Memory problems, thinking and reasoning difficulties and language problems are common early symptoms of the condition, which then worsen over time.
Yahoo
20-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
A Sign Deep Inside Your Eyes Could Warn of Early Dementia
Blood vessels at the back of your eye may one day alert doctors to signs of early dementia, a new study suggests. Multiple studies have found links between eye problems and dementia risk. Plaques of amyloid beta proteins, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, have even been found in the retinas of people who have it. Three years ago, researchers from the University of Otago in New Zealand discovered that thinning in a person's retina in middle age can be linked to cognitive performance in their early and adult life. That's the light-sensitive tissue that lines the back of the eye. The scientists suspected these findings could one day pave the way towards a simple eye test to help predict a person's risk for conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. Now, some members of that team have followed the hunch a step further. "In our study, we looked at the retina, which is directly connected to the brain," University of Otago psychologist Ashleigh Barrett-Young says. "It's thought that many of the disease processes in Alzheimer's are reflected in the retina, making it a good target as a biomarker to identify people at risk of developing dementia." Barrett-Young and colleagues returned to the longitudinal database used in their 2022 research, the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, which tracked 45 years of health data from New Zealanders born in 1972 and 1973. For their new research, the team only used data collected from 938 participants at age 45, including retinal photographs, eye scans, and a battery of tests that gauge midlife risk of Alzheimer's and related dementias. Repeating the major part of their 2022 study, they checked for associations between cognitive decline and retinal layer thickness. They took special care over the layer of nerve fibers closest to the jelly-filled vitreous cavity that 'fills out' our rounded eyes, and its neighboring layers of ganglion cells and inner plexiform. The nerve fiber layer is particularly important because it carries visual signals to the brain. They also looked for possible associations with retinal microvascular health, ascertained by measuring the diameter of tiny arteries and veins in the retina. These "are believed to reflect the integrity of the overall cardiovascular system of the body (including the cerebrovasculature), which is implicated in the pathology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias and, in particular, vascular dementias," the team writes. It turns out that, at least for the 45-year-old Kiwis involved in the study, retinal microvascular health was a much stronger predictor of dementia risk than the nerve fiber layer. While thickness of the nerve fiber layer (though not the ganglion cell–inner plexiform layer) was weakly associated with dementia risk, it was nowhere near as strong as the microvascular link. The team found dementia risk scores were usually higher among people with narrower arterioles (tiny vessels that carry blood away from the heart) and wider venules (miniature veins that receive blood from capillaries). Medical professionals won't be putting the findings of this study into action just yet, because it's too population-specific and observational. Also, as the authors note, while the dementia risk measures are "highly predictive of the likelihood of dementia decades later", they are by no means a direct measure of actual disease. Nonetheless, it seems we're getting closer to a world where a routine eye check could help flag the risk of dementia before it hits, and give you more time to plan treatment. "Treatments for Alzheimer's and some other forms of dementia may be most effective if they're started early in the disease course," Barrett-Young says. "Hopefully, one day we'll be able to use AI methods on eye scans to give you an indication of your brain health, but we're not there yet." The research was published in Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. This Overlooked Bodily Waste Product Is Proving Useful For Medical Research Brains That Age Faster May Drive Schizophrenia, Research Finds Here's How to Interpret The Concerning Link Between Cooking Oil And Cancer
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
All in the eyes? Scans suggest progress with dementia diagnostics
Veins and arteries at the back of the eye have been found to carry not only blood but signals of vulnerability to dementia onset. The presence of potential early warning signs of cognitive decline in veins linking the retina to the brain could help with "putting together pieces of a puzzle," according to Ashleigh Barrett-Young of the University of Otago, New Zealand. In a paper published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, researchers from the University of Otago and University of Virginia conclude that "measures of retinal health, particularly microvascular measures, successfully capture ADRD [Alzheimer's disease and related dementia] risk across several domains of known risk factors." And while the researchers caution that it is "premature" for "real world" application of the potential diagnostic method, they proposed that retinal microvascular imaging could prove to be an "accessible, scalable, and relatively low-cost method of assessing ADRD risk among middle-aged adults." The team say their scans revealed that a system of narrower arterioles, wider venules and thinner retinal nerve fibre layers carrying visual signals from the retina to the brain were associated with greater dementia risk. "I was surprised that venules were associated with so many different domains of Alzheimer's disease – that suggests that it might be a particularly useful target for assessing dementia risk," Barrett-Young says of the "somewhat unexpected" scan outcome. "Cognitive tests aren't sensitive enough in the early stages and a person may not be experiencing any decline yet, while other tests, like MRI and PET scanning, are expensive and not widely available," the researchers say, according to a University of Otago statement. 'Treatments for Alzheimer's and some other forms of dementia may be most effective if they're started early in the disease course," says Barrett-Young.
