An Eye Scan for Alzheimer’s Disease?

Researchers aim for a routine screen to detect the neurodegenerative disease—decades before symptoms appear.

Written byShawna Williams

| 4 min read

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ANDRZEJ KRAUZE

Neurodegenerative diseases are tough nuts to crack, not just because of the inherent difficulties of sorting through what has gone awry, and why, but also due to a dearth of biomarkers that could help spot the diseases and track their progression. This inability to easily diagnose many forms of neurodegeneration means that the diseases can’t be treated early in their progression. The lack of biomarkers also hinders the certainty with which researchers running clinical trials can assess whether and how well experimental treatments of the diseases are working. A simple, noninvasive eye scan now being developed for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), however, may help address both shortcomings.

AD researchers already utilize amyloid positron emission tomography (PET), in which tracers are injected into patients’ brains to make ...

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Meet the Author

Shawna Williams
Shawna was an editor at The Scientist from 2017 through 2022. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Colorado College and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Previously, she worked as a freelance editor and writer, and in the communications offices of several academic research institutions. As news director, Shawna assigned and edited news, opinion, and in-depth feature articles for the website on all aspects of the life sciences. She is based in central Washington State, and is a member of the Northwest Science Writers Association and the National Association of Science Writers.
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