A new study of older women suggests that an evaluation of the retina of your eyes could be a screening tool for potential cognitive decline. Mary Haan, DrPH and colleagues at the University of California San Francisco reported online in the journal Neurology that retinopathy may predict the risk of dementia.
"Problems with the tiny blood vessels in the eye may be a sign that there are also problems with the blood vessels in the brain that can lead to cognitive problems," Haan said in a statement quoted in MedPageToday. "This could be very useful if a simple eye screening could give us an early indication that people might be at risk of problems with their brain health and functioning."
The findings resulted from an analysis of 511 women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative who were over 65. However the researchers cautioned that further study regarding the effects of various degrees of retinopathy is necessary.
