Multispectral cellular-level retinal imaging for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease

项目总结/摘要 物理科学公司（PSI）提出了一种新的技术来鉴定淀粉样β蛋白（Aβ） 作为阿尔茨海默病（AD）的生物标志物沉积在视网膜中。我们在这个项目中的目标是开发 一种光学成像技术，能够识别视网膜中体内的特定化合物， 细胞水平的分辨率，非侵入性的，并且不使用造影剂。我们将验证 作为原理验证，该技术首次在I期试验中在小鼠上鉴定AD的早期适应症 然后在第二阶段进行人体实验。 虽然AD还不能以治愈为目的进行治疗，但足够早的诊断将有助于AD的治疗。 用可用的治疗方法进行干预，为患者的生活增加数年的生产质量时间。 然而，缺乏合适的诊断工具，用于体内快速筛查Aβ聚集和早期诊断。 AD病理学的检测具有严重的局限性。当前可用的结构、功能和代谢 脑成像方法还不适合于临床前阶段的重复群体筛选。 它们要么受到使用不安全的电离同位素（放射性）的限制，涉及高成本， 可用性，并提供降低的分辨率或特异性。另一种非侵入性的可视化方法 AD患者的Aβ斑块可以高分辨率光学成像视网膜，知道Aβ斑块 在视网膜层中形成，并与大脑中的那些共享属性。 视网膜作为大脑的延伸部分，是中枢神经系统中唯一可以 以亚细胞分辨率非侵入性成像。人类死后组织病理学研究 显示Aβ在确诊AD患者的视网膜中蓄积，主要在视网膜内层。 对AD转基因小鼠模型的研究已经证明了视网膜Aβ的存在，并显示 脑和视网膜Aβ沉积之间的定量和时间相关性。大多数体内视网膜 成像技术涉及基于姜黄素作为荧光标记或基于 超光谱成像然而，到目前为止，还没有涉及光谱分析的活体视网膜成像技术 提供了细胞级分辨率，没有高分辨率视网膜成像仪器具有光谱 歧视PSI建议开发一种基于多光谱自适应光学的非侵入式光学成像 该技术将能够在体内细胞水平分辨率，用于早期检测视网膜中Aβ的存在 并将有助于了解各种神经退行性疾病的发病途径。我们将建立在 我们在高分辨率视网膜成像和光谱分析方面的专业知识。

Project Summary/Abstract Physical Sciences Inc (PSI) proposes to develop a novel technique to identify amyloid β-protein (Aβ) deposits in the retina as a biomarker for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Our goal in this program is to develop an optical imaging technique capable of identifying specific chemical compounds in vivo in the retina with cellular-level resolution, non-invasively, and without the use of contrast agents. We will validate the ability of this technique to identify early indications of AD on mice first in Phase I as a proof-of-principle demonstration, and then on humans in Phase II. Although AD cannot yet be treated with the intent to cure, sufficiently early diagnosis will facilitate intervention with available therapeutics, adding years of productive quality time to the patient's life. However, the lack of suitable diagnostic tools for both in vivo rapid screening of Aβ aggregation and early detection of AD pathology poses severe limitations. Current available structural, functional, and metabolic brain imaging methods are not yet suitable for repeated population screening in the preclinical stages. They are either limited by the use of unsafe ionizing isotopes (radioactivity), involve high costs, have low availability, and provide reduced resolution or specificity. An alternative non-invasive approach to visualize Aβ plaques in AD patients could be high-resolution optical imaging of the retina, knowing that Aβ plaques form in retinal layers and share properties with those in the brain. The retina, as an extension of the brain, is the only part of the central nervous system that can be imaged non-invasively at sub-cellular resolutions. Human postmortem histopathological studies have shown accumulation of Aβ in the retinas of those with confirmed AD, principally in the inner-retinal layers. Studies of transgenic mouse models of AD have demonstrated the presence of retinal Aβ and shown quantitative and temporal correlations between brain and retinal Aβ deposition. Most of the in vivo retinal imaging techniques involved fluorescence imaging based on curcumin as a fluorescence tag or on hyperspectral imaging. However, so far, no in vivo retinal imaging technique involving spectral analysis provided cellular-level resolution and no high-resolution retinal imaging instrument possessed spectral discrimination. PSI proposes to develop a multispectral adaptive optics-based non-invasive optical imaging technique that will enable in vivo cellular-level resolution for early detection of Aβ presence in the retina and will facilitate a path to understanding the onset of various neurodegenerative diseases. We will build on our expertise in high-resolution retinal imaging and spectral analysis.