Could an eye test help detect Alzheimer's disease?

Scott Hughes, ninety-seven, and his identical twin sister, Virginia, were still close. When Virginia started having memory problems and thinking, Scott knew something was wrong. Virginia was diagnosed later Alzheimer's disease.

"It was heartbreaking because she was so open and loving," Scott Hughes told CBS News. "She was not going to be what she was before, and it's tragic to see someone you love."

One of the twins being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and the other healthy, researchers at the Duke Eye Center, who are studying the link between eye health and the brain, felt that the sisters constituted a good case to consider.

They took pictures of their eyes and discovered that the twin with Alzheimer's disease had significantly reduced the density of the blood vessels in the retina. This discovery led to a new study of more than 200 people.

"Normal changes in the retina do not affect cognitively healthy individuals," said Dr. Sharon Fekrat, ophthalmologist at Duke Eye Center and author of the study.

Scott Hughes, 97 years old, on the right, and his identical twin sister, Virginia, suffering from Alzheimer's disease, participated in the study.

CBS News

She and her team discovered microscopic blood vessels formed in a dense network at the back of the eye, inside the retina, in 133 of the healthy participants participating in the study. ;study. But in the eyes of 39 people living with Alzheimer disease, this canvas was less dense and even rare in places. The results were published in the journal Ophthalmology Retina.

Fekrat says that the eyes can be a window on our brain health. "These changes that occur in the retina in the eye can actually reflect changes in the blood vessels in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease," she said.

Researchers have announced plans to study people who have a genetic risk of Alzheimer's disease but have no symptoms indicating that they may be able to predict the course of the disease.

Virginia Hughes passed away 14 months ago. "Every night after dinner, we had a conversation," recalls his sister. "Sometimes she could answer and sometimes no, but she always knew that sister was calling."

Scott Hughes says she is grateful that her sister and herself have had the opportunity to contribute to the research together.