Advisor(s)

Timothy Kraft

Committee Member(s)

Edmund Arthur
Mark Swanson

Document Type

Thesis

Date of Award

6-1-2026

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

School

School of Optometry

Department

Vision Science

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease remains one of the most expensive and fatal diseases facing medical practitioners to this day. According to the CDC, statistics show that it is the seventh leading cause of death worldwide. In addition to fatalities, there is a tremendous financial and emotional cost of dementia to the patient and surrounding caregivers. Improved screening techniques and new treatments for this disease are a priority of several institutes within the NIH. Early detection and early intervention are critical to improve the outcomes of patients worldwide. Amyloid beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) are two of the most important protein aggregates that can be identified in Alzheimer’s patients. Currently, the most utilized and definitive screening techniques for identifying amyloid beta plaques and NFT’s are positron emission tomography (PET) scans and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) assays. While these techniques have a respectable specificity and sensitivity, they are quite expensive and invasive. The retina has recently become a location of interest for the detection of early changes in Alzheimer’s disease. The retina develops directly from the diencephalon and, therefore, contributes to the central nervous system (CNS). Due to the retina’s neural embryological origin, it stands to reason that Alzheimer’s disease may have early functional and anatomical effects within the retina. We used Pattern Electroretinogram (PERG), Electroretinogram (ERG), and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) to characterize these functional and anatomical changes. The goal of this study was to determine the age-related change in the function and anatomy of the retina between a younger cohort and an older cohort of age and sex matched subjects. Now that this has been completed, the study can proceed to include preclinical AD and MCI subjects. Functional and anatomical changes can then be compared to the age and sex matched healthy old cohort.

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