Evaluation of cholinergic deficiency in preclinical Alzheimer's disease using pupillometry

Shaun Frost*, Liam Robinson, Christopher C. Rowe, David Ames, Colin L. Masters, Kevin Taddei, Stephanie R. Rainey-Smith, Ralph N. Martins, Yogesan Kanagasingam

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    36 Citations (Scopus)
    35 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    Cortical cholinergic deficiency is prominent in Alzheimer's disease (AD), and published findings of diminished pupil flash response in AD suggest that this deficiency may extend to the visual cortical areas and anterior eye. Pupillometry is a low-cost, noninvasive technique that may be useful for monitoring cholinergic deficits which generally lead to memory and cognitive disorders. The aim of the study was to evaluate pupillometry for early detection of AD by comparing the pupil flash response (PFR) in AD (N=14) and cognitively normal healthy control (HC, N=115) participants, with the HC group stratified according to high (N=38) and low (N=77) neocortical amyloid burden (NAB). Constriction phase PFR parameters were significantly reduced in AD compared to HC (maximum acceleration p<0.05, maximum velocity p<0.0005, average velocity p<0.005, and constriction amplitude p<0.00005). The high-NAB HC subgroup had reduced PFR response cross-sectionally, and also a greater decline longitudinally, compared to the low-NAB subgroup, suggesting changes to pupil response in preclinical AD. The results suggest that PFR changes may occur in the preclinical phase of AD. Hence, pupillometry has a potential as an adjunct for noninvasive, cost-effective screening for preclinical AD.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number7935406
    Pages (from-to)1-8
    Number of pages8
    JournalJournal of Ophthalmology
    Volume2017
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2017

    Bibliographical note

    Copyright the Author(s) 2017. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

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