Objective. To seek an effective method for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment of the amnestic type (MCIa) using scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (SLO) as a safe and widely available examination method. Materials and methods. A total of 45 patients (20 with AD, 10 with MCIa, and 15 healthy controls) were examined to visualize amyloid deposition in the retina using the solid lipid dietary ligand curcumin and a modified scanning laser ophthalmoscope. The total number of observations was 63, as not all patients provided the opportunity to evaluate the retinas of both eyes. All patients underwent neurological and ophthalmological examinations, neuropsychological testing (MMSE, FCSRT, clock drawing test), brain MRI for visual assessment of atrophic changes using the global cortical atrophy scale (GCA) and the medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA) scale, and confocal SLO at two time points – before and during curcumin intake. Semi-automated calculation of the area (S) and number (N) of particles with peak brightness (PPB) increase was performed. Results. After intake of curcumin, the following results were obtained in patients with AD: NPPB = 167% [129; 258] (p = 0.1) and SPPB = 198% [148; 230] (p = 0.007); patients with MCIa: NPPB = 123% [114; 157] (p = 0.15) and SPPB = 129% [110; 140] (p = 0.08). Conclusions. The data obtained here indicate elevated deposition of β-amyloid protein in the retinas of patients with AD and expand the potential for its early diagnosis.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1195–1200
Number of pages6
JournalNeuroscience and Behavioral Physiology
Volume55
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - 11 Sep 2025

    Research areas

  • Alzheimer’s disease, curcumin, eye, mild cognitive impairment, retina, scanning laser ophthalmoscopy, β-amyloid protein

ID: 142828306