They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, but new research suggests they might also be windows into our health, specifically, the early detection of some serious diseases that’s affecting more and more people. To uncover these insights, scientists need a detailed look at what’s happening behind the eyes, in the retina itself. A team of researchers from the University of Edinburgh has achieved just that
Using a specialized scanning technique called Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), which is already widely used by optometrists, the researchers were able to gain crucial information. OCT is a quick, precise, and gentle method that scans the retina in three dimensions using light beams, revealing details critical for identifying certain diseases. The researchers believe that, in the future, OCT eye scans could make it much easier, faster, and safer to diagnose kidney disease and assess how advanced it is.
Symptoms often go unnoticed
Kidney disease is becoming increasingly common, often developing as a complication of prevalent health issues like diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure. The ability to detect kidney disease early with OCT scans is a significant advantage. Currently, kidney disease often progresses without symptoms in its early stages, with existing methods only detecting the condition after half of the kidney function has already been lost. The eye is the only place in the body where the blood flow through the tiniest vessels, known as microvascular circulation, can be directly observed. This circulation is often affected by kidney disease, making the eye a key indicator for early diagnosis.
Retinal thickness as an indicator
The OCT scan creates a cross-sectional image of the retina in just a few minutes. These images can reveal critical details that indicate the presence of kidney disease. The Scottish researchers analyzed OCT images from 204 patients with varying stages of kidney disease, including some on the waiting list for a kidney transplant. They compared these images to those from 86 healthy individuals. The findings were clear: the patients with kidney disease had thinner retinas than the healthy individuals, likely due to reduced microcirculation.
A less invasive approach for patients
The study also revealed that as kidney function declined, the patients' retinas became progressively thinner. This suggests that retinal thickness could serve as a measure of how advanced the disease is. Interestingly, this change in retinal thickness is reversible. As kidney function improves, the retina thickens again—particularly quickly in patients who have undergone a kidney transplant. The researchers hope that their findings can be used not only to detect kidney disease in its early stages but also to develop new treatments. The advantage of using OCT is that it allows doctors to see if a treatment is effective by monitoring changes in the retina. What’s more, this new diagnostic method is far less invasive. Many kidney disease patients currently undergo invasive procedures as part of their monitoring, on top of enduring exhausting treatments like dialysis.
The researchers from the University of Edinburgh have published their study in the journal Nature Communications, hoping it will pave the way for earlier and easier detection of kidney disease.
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