July 2019
Volume 60, Issue 9
Open Access
ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract  |   July 2019
Association of brain structure and cognitive function with structural retinal markers in asymptomatic individuals at high risk for Alzheimer disease
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • Ygal Rotenstreich
    Goldscheleger Eye Research Institute, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel
    Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
  • Inbal Sharvit-Ginon
    The Joseph Sagol Neuroscience Center, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel
    Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
  • Ofira Zloto
    Goldscheleger Eye Research Institute, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel
    Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
  • Ido Didi Fabian
    Goldscheleger Eye Research Institute, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel
    Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
  • Amir Abd Elkader
    Goldscheleger Eye Research Institute, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel
    Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
  • Michal Beeri
    The Joseph Sagol Neuroscience Center, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel
    The Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York, New York, United States
  • Aron Weller
    Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
    Gonda Brain Research Center, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
  • Ramit Ravona-Springer
    The Joseph Sagol Neuroscience Center, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel
    Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
  • Ifat Sher-Rosenthal
    Goldscheleger Eye Research Institute, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Israel
  • Footnotes
    Commercial Relationships   Ygal Rotenstreich, Accutome inc (F), Everads Therapy (E); Inbal Sharvit-Ginon, None; Ofira Zloto, None; Ido Fabian, None; Amir Abd Elkader, None; Michal Beeri, None; Aron Weller, None; Ramit Ravona-Springer, None; Ifat Sher-Rosenthal, Everads Therapy (E)
  • Footnotes
    Support  Israeli Science Foundation ( to YR, RR, MB), TEVA NNE grant (to YR, RR, MB)
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science July 2019, Vol.60, 1878. doi:
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      Ygal Rotenstreich, Inbal Sharvit-Ginon, Ofira Zloto, Ido Didi Fabian, Amir Abd Elkader, Michal Beeri, Aron Weller, Ramit Ravona-Springer, Ifat Sher-Rosenthal; Association of brain structure and cognitive function with structural retinal markers in asymptomatic individuals at high risk for Alzheimer disease. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2019;60(9):1878.

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      © ARVO (1962-2015); The Authors (2016-present)

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Abstract

Purpose : To characterize early structural retinal changes in asymptomatic offspring of Alzheimer disease (AD) patients.

Methods : 77 offspring of AD patients (FH+) and 41 age-matched controls (FH-) were enrolled. All subjects underwent complete ophthalmic examination and multicolor spectral domain optic coherence tomography (SD-OCT) imaging. Cognitive assessment included executive function and episodic memory tests. MRI brain imaging was performed in 87 of the subjects (FH+=64; FH-=23) on a 3T MRI.

Results : In FH+ subjects, better performance in episodic memory was associated in both eyes with macular ganglion cell layer (mGCL, OS: r=0.397; p=0.003, OD: r=0.301; p=0.026), larger thickness of the macular retinal nerve fiber layer (mRNFL) (left eye, OS: r=0.348; p=.010; right eye, OD: r= 0.297; p=0.028) and larger thickness of the macular inner plexiform layer (mIPL) in the left eye (r=0.430; p=0.001). In FH- subjects, better working memory was associated in both eyes with greater total mGCL (OS: r=0.360; p=0.051; OD: r=0.400; p=0.029 in the RE) and mRNFL (OS: r=0.401; p=0.028; OD: r=0.478; p=0.008) thickness and with greater thickness of the macular retinal pigment epithelium (mRPE) in the right eye (r=0.358; p=0.052). In FH+ subjects, larger right hippocampal volume was associated with greater thickness of the mGCL (r=0.313; p=.030) in the right eye. A similar trend was observed for the association of right hippocampal volume with mRPE thickness (r=0.272; p=.062). Interestingly, in FH-, the association of hippocampal volume with RPE was in the opposite direction (r=-.40; p=.11, and r=-.47; p=.052) for the left hippocampus in both eyes, i.e. greater hippocampal volume was associated with thinner RPE.

Conclusions : Our preliminary results show that beyond family history status, the thickness of inner retinal layers and supporting RPE in the macula are associated with cognitive functioning, as well as with hippocampal volume. AD family history status differentially affected the relationships of the retina with brain markers. Taken together the thickness of macular layers may present a novel biomarker for very early detection of AD.

This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.

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