Alzheimer’s disease – Computational Ophthalmology

December 6, 2021December 6, 2021

Association Between Cataract Extraction and Development of Dementia

In a new paper published in JAMA Internal Medicine, Dr. Cecilia Lee and her colleagues report exciting findings related to the association between cataract surgery and dementia risk. Using data from Adult Changes in Thought, an ongoing longitudinal study following 5000+ older adults for the development of Alzheimer disease and other dementias, they compared outcomes of participants with cataract who had surgery to those who did not. Participants who underwent cataract surgery had nearly 30% lower risk of developing dementia from any cause compared with those who did not, even after controlling for many health-related confounders and potential sources of biases.

May 19, 2021May 20, 2021

Application of deep learning to understand resilience to Alzheimer's disease pathology

The term "resilient" is used to describe the unique set of people who develop the neuropathological features of Alzheimer's disease but do not show signs of the cognitive decline that is typically associated with the disease. In this study, published in the journal Brain Pathology, Dr. Cecilia Lee and Dr. Aaron Lee used a machine learning approach to identify subtle differences in brain tissue of "resilient" patients compared to patients with Alzheimer's disease. These patients had been participants in the Adult Changes in Thought study and donated their brains for research into the causes of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

March 15, 2021May 4, 2021

Associations Between Retinal Artery/Vein Occlusions and Risk of Vascular Dementia

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In this study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, Dr. Cecilia Lee and her co-authors investigated whether retinal artery and retinal vein occlusions are risk factors for developing dementia. Retinal vascular occlusions are associated with aging and can reflect systemic vascular changes related to diseases like hypertension and cardiovascular disease, changes that may also be occurring in the brain. Vascular pathology is already known to be an important risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Dr. Lee wondered if retinal vascular occlusion might be a harbinger for problems with cognition down the line.

March 12, 2021May 12, 2021

Understanding the Brain through Aging Eyes

In this Viewpoint article published in the journal Advances in Geriatric Medicine and Research, Dr. Cecilia Lee discusses the ways in which the eye, specifically the retina, can provide valuable information about the aging brain and dementia. The eye and the brain share the same embryologic origins and undergo similar changes as we age. One reason that it is challenging to develop treatments for neurodegenerative diseases associated with aging such as Alzheimer's disease is that it is very difficult to examine brain tissue while a person is living. The retina, however, can be visualized easily and non-invasively in an ophthalmology clinic or doctor's office, and can provide interesting clues about disease processes in the brain.

November 1, 2020January 12, 2021

Minimum data set for SD‐OCT retinal imaging and analysis from the Atlas of Retinal Imaging in Alzheimer's Study

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In this article, a group of authors representing 16 different institutions (including our own Dr. Cecilia Lee) have laid out a framework for standardization of retinal imaging data collection for Alzheimer's disease biomarker research studies. Many labs are doing research in this area, but they often use different imaging modalities and protocols, making it challenging to compare data between studies. Because these studies often have small numbers of subjects by necessity, standardizing data collection will also enable researchers to collect data into a larger database, allowing them to observe larger trends in the data.