New research suggests simple eye tests could be used to diagnose early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, raising hopes that effective treatments can be developed to do more than alleviate the condition’s symptoms.

Press Association reports via The Guardian:

Early trials of two different techniques show that a key Alzheimer’s biomarker can be identified in the retina and lens of the eye.

Both methods were able to distinguish between probable Alzheimer’s patients and healthy volunteers with a high level of accuracy.

Although the research is still at an early stage, further work could lead to such tests being used as a first step in identifying individuals with Alzheimer’s.

After an initial eye test, more expensive and costly procedures such as PET (positron emission tomography) scans or spinal fluid analysis would then be used to confirm the disease.

Read more here.

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

Wait, before you go…

If you're reading this, you probably already know that non-profit, independent journalism is under threat worldwide. Independent news sites are overshadowed by larger heavily funded mainstream media that inundate us with hype and noise that barely scratch the surface. We believe that our readers deserve to know the full story. Truthdig writers bravely dig beneath the headlines to give you thought-provoking, investigative reporting and analysis that tells you what’s really happening and who’s rolling up their sleeves to do something about it.

Like you, we believe a well-informed public that doesn’t have blind faith in the status quo can help change the world. Your contribution of as little as $5 monthly or $35 annually will make you a groundbreaking member and lays the foundation of our work.

Support Truthdig