Aug 24, 2023 08:00:00

It is reported that signs of Parkinson's disease can be detected up to 7 years before the onset by scanning human eyes and analyzing AI

Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disease that manifests outside of exercise facilities, such as hand tremors and difficulty walking. Parkinson's disease is a serious disease that can lead to wheelchairs and bedridden lifestyles as symptoms progress. A research team such as experts at Oxford University Hospital discovered that signs can be found by performing a retinal scan using AI up to seven years before the symptoms appear.

Retinal Optical Coherence Tomography Features Associated With Incident and Prevalent Parkinson Disease | Neurology
https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0000000000207727

Eye scans detect signs of Parkinson's disease - Oxford University Hospitals

https://www.ouh.nhs.uk/research/news/article.aspx

Eye scans detect signs of Parkinson's disease up to seven years before diagnosis | Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

https://www.moorfields.nhs.uk/news/eye-scans-detect-signs-parkinson-s-disease-seven-years-diagnosis

The research team analyzed the AlzEye dataset, a cohort study of 154,830 subjects aged 40 and over who attend medical ophthalmology in London. A further analysis of retinal imaging was performed on 67,311 healthy volunteers aged 40-69 years enrolled in the UK Biobank .

The research team also used AI to compare the retinal scan data of about 700 patients who developed Parkinson's disease with the retinal scan data of subjects who did not develop Parkinson's disease. Then, it turned out that the thickness of the inner cell membrane of the retina was different between subjects who developed Parkinson's disease and those who did not, on average seven years before the onset of Parkinson's disease. We identified that the thickness of the inner cell layer is associated with the development of Parkinson's disease.

So far, studies have been conducted to detect signs of cardiovascular disease , kidney disease , and aging by scanning the retina, but this time it showed the possibility of detecting signs of neurodegenerative disease. It is said that it is the first time. The field of research that detects signs of disease through retinal scans is called 'occuromics'.

In this study, based on cross-sectional scans of the retina taken using

optical coherence tomography (OCT), AI was used to analyze a large number of retinal scans.

Alastair Deniston, an ophthalmologist at the University of Birmingham Hospital, said, ``Using AI reveals signs and changes that are too subtle for humans to see.This study reveals the earliest signs of Parkinson's disease. We are now able to detect this, opening up new possibilities for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.'

On the other hand, Pierce Keane, who studies artificial intelligence at University College London, said, 'Further research is needed to realize the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease by retinal scan.' However, 'regular retinal scans may be able to detect signs of other diseases, including Parkinson's disease, in the future.'

'Finding signs of disease before symptoms develop can give patients time to make lifestyle changes to prevent future disease development,' said Siegfried Wagner, an ophthalmologist at Oxford University Hospital. We are not yet at the stage of predicting whether an individual patient is likely to develop Parkinson's disease, but future retinal scans will be a pre-screening tool for people at risk of developing Parkinson's disease. I hope it will be,” he said.