First described in 1906 by Dr. Alois Alzheimer, there is
no cure – but research is continuing at a rapid pace all
over the world.
Close to home and optically related, work is being done
at Boston University by Lee Goldstein. Since early detection
is important in effective treatment, Dr. Goldstein is
working on a device that may let Doctors screen for
Alzheimer's long before any symptoms appear.
As a geriatric psychiatrist and neuroscientist at BU's
School of Medicine and College of Engineering, Dr. Goldstein
and his team are in a unique position to blend the science
of medicine and the art of technology. Four years ago the
team realized that the sticky, tangled plaques containing
the protein beta-amyloid that build up between nerve cells
in the brain are also found to be collecting in the lens of
the eye causing an unusual cataract that differs from common
age-related cataracts.
While working with Alzheimer's mice, Goldstein noticed
the development of dense bilateral cataracts in their eyes.
Healthy control mice showed none. When checking humans with
Alzheimer's he noted the same cataract formations. This
discovery was the first of Alzheimer's pathology outside the
brain and led Goldstein to develop a laser-based diagnostic
device that searches for amyloidal protein buildup in the
eye.
In Dr. Goldstein's words, "Alzheimer's is an
exceedingly slow disease that starts many years to a decade
or more before the beginning of a cognitive decline,"
he stated. "If we can combine emerging new treatments
with early detection, we can beat this disease and do so
soon. Our most recent work suggests that we may be able to
detect the disease at the molecular level from the earliest
stages, hopefully well before the first clinical
symptoms."
A few years ago Dr. Goldstein formed a biotech company in
Acton, MA called Neuroptix that is developing the technology
to make such screenings possible.
Dr. Goldstein hopes that in three years or so in addition
to checking you for an update on your progressive lenses or
looking for glaucoma and regular cataracts, your Doctor may
ask if you'd like an Alzheimer's screening on his new
Neuroptix laser scanning device.
Wouldn't that be wonderful?
(Thanks to Vicky Waltz and Bostonia Magazine, Spring
2008)