MRI and Clinical Biomarkers Overlap between Glaucoma and Alzheimer’s Disease

Abstract

Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness worldwide. It is classically associated with structural and functional changes in the optic nerve head and retinal nerve fiber layer, but the damage is not limited to the eye. The involvement of the central visual pathways and disruption of brain network organization have been reported using advanced neuroimaging techniques. The brain structural changes at the level of the areas implied in processing visual information could justify the discrepancy between signs and symptoms and underlie the analogy of this disease with neurodegenerative dementias, such as Alzheimer’s disease, and with the complex group of pathologies commonly referred to as “disconnection syndromes.” This review aims to summarize the current state of the art on the use of advanced neuroimaging techniques in glaucoma and Alzheimer’s disease, highlighting the emerging biomarkers shared by both diseases.

Machine Learning Analysis Classifies Patients with Primary Angle-Closure Glaucoma Using Abnormal Brain White Matter Function

“…It is noteworthy that individuals with glaucoma are at an elevated risk of developing cognitive decline disorders, including AD and PD. [32][33][34][35] According to prior research, [36][37][38][39] the application of ALFF has been utilized to investigate the abnormal WM function in diverse neurological conditions, including AD, PD, and Schizophrenia. Based on this background, we applied the ALFF brain functional index to explore WM functional changes in patients with PACG.…”

Basic, Translational, and Clinical Research on Dementia

“…Another aspect of great importance is obtaining a better understanding of the complex disease aetiology, including the identification of early disease markers aided by ultrastructural magnetic resonance imaging to develop more effective treatments. Martucci A et al [24] have pointed out the overlapping of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and clinical biomarkers between glaucoma and AD, summarizing the current state of the art on the use of advanced neuroimaging techniques in neurodegenerative diseases. Glaucoma is a multifactorial degenerative optic neuropathy, representing the second leading cause of blindness worldwide [25,26].…”

“…Involvement of the central visual pathways and disruption of brain network organization have been reported using advanced neuroimaging techniques [29]. The brain structural changes at the level of the areas implied in processing visual information could justify the discrepancy between signs and symptoms and underlie the analogy of this disease with neurodegenerative dementias, such as AD, and with the complex group of pathologies commonly referred to as "disconnection syndromes" [24,30].…”