The Eye-Brain Connection The central nervous system and the retina are inextricably linked, and changes in the brain can often be detected in the eyes. Research shows that advanced Alzheimer's disease has been linked to thinning of the central retina and degeneration of the optic nerve.

A new study has found that people with Alzheimer's had fewer blood vessels and less blood flow in the retina (back of their eye). The Alzheimer-linked eye changes were detected by an eye test that uses a scanning technique called Octa (optical coherence tomography angiography).

Some people living with Alzheimer's or other dementia could experience vision changes. This may lead to difficulty with balance or trouble reading. They may also have problems judging distance and determining color or contrast, causing issues with driving.

Retinal changes also correlated with the pathological stage of Alzheimer's disease (called Braak stage) and patients' cognitive status. And they were found even in patients who appeared cognitively normal or very mildly impaired, marking them as a possible early predictor of later cognitive decline.

Computerized tomography (CT) A CT scan is a type of X-ray that uses radiation to produce images of the brain or other parts of the body. A head CT can show shrinkage of brain regions that may occur in dementia, as well as signs of other possible sources of disease, such as an infection or blood clot.

The five-minute cognitive test (FCT) was designed to capture deficits in five domains of cognitive abilities, including episodic memory, language fluency, time orientation, visuospatial function, and executive function.

Introduction: The five-word test (5WT) is a serial verbal memory test with semantic cuing. It is proposed to rapidly evaluate memory of aging people and has previously shown its sensitivity and its specificity in identifying patients with AD.

Bottom line. You can't tell whether someone has dementia by looking in their eyes. However, vision loss commonly occurs among people with dementia. It's not clear whether vision loss causes dementia or vice versa.

The five-minute cognitive test (FCT) was designed to capture deficits in five domains of cognitive abilities, including episodic memory, language fluency, time orientation, visuospatial function, and executive function.

1 Taking about 10 minutes to complete, the MMSE measures aspects of cognition that include orientation, word recall, attention and calculation, language abilities, and visual construction.

Designed by researchers at Ohio State in 2010, the SAGE test is widely used as a helpful tool to assess cognition and detect early Alzheimer's and dementia. The SAGE test is 12 questions that cover several facets of cognition, including: memory. judgment.

The Mini-Cog test. A third test, known as the Mini-Cog, takes 2 to 4 minutes to administer and involves asking patients to recall three words after drawing a picture of a clock. If a patient shows no difficulties recalling the words, it is inferred that he or she does not have dementia.