Researchers at NYU Langone Health have received $1.6 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to investigate changes in the eye that may indicate early signs of Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
The award, OT2OD038130, recognizes the eye as part of the brain and its role as a window into cognitive and visual health. After the initial $1.6 million award, the grant may be extended for an additional two years, for a total of $4.8 million, as part of the NIH Common Fund Venture Program’s new Oculomics Initiative. Oculomics is a relatively new term to describe the integrative use of technology and ocular imaging to identify retinal biomarkers of systemic diseases.
The study at NYU Langone Health will apply a new eye imaging technology, visible light optical coherence tomography (OCT), to detect biomarkers of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Vivek J. Srinivasan, PhD, associate professor in the Departments of Ophthalmology and Radiology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and member of the Tech4Health Institute; and Laura J. Balcer, MD, MSCE, vice chair of the Department of Neurology and professor in the Departments of Neurology, Ophthalmology and Population Health, will be the principal investigators.
“The goal is to find hallmarks of neurological disorders by looking into the eye, which is an easily accessible window to the brain,” said Dr. Srinivasan. “Using visible light OCT, we can capture high-resolution images of the retina to potentially detect the early and progressive changes associated with neurological disorders.”
Visible light OCT can capture micrometer-level images of the retina to better detect subtle structural changes in neurodegeneration, said Dr. Srinivasan. Traditional OCT uses near-infrared light, which can only capture 3 micrometer resolution at best. Visible light OCT also enables molecular sensitivity in the retina. The emerging technology, developed by Dr. Srinivasan from NYU Langone, will be used to map the retina in patients referred by cognitive neurologists and physicians from the Fresco Institute for Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders, the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and the Pearl I. Barlow Center for Memory Evaluation and treatment.
“We explore important aspects of neuro-ophthalmology in this study and try to answer three big questions,” said Dr. Balcer. “How can we distinguish the eyes of people with a neurological disorder from those of disease-free individuals of similar age using visible light OCT? How can we identify these conditions by looking at the layers of the retina? And how can we effects of therapies?
Dr. Balcer, a neuro-ophthalmologist, is a career-long colleague of Steven L. Galetta, MD, Philip K. Moskowitz, MD, Professor of Neurology, and the chair of the Department of Neurology. Dr. Balcer is known for her team’s research linking changes in the eye as indicators of neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis and concussion. She says this study could lead to a breakthrough in adding vision tests to assess and possibly even diagnose early-stage Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. Earlier detection could mean that interventions are introduced earlier, or that patients can be enrolled earlier in clinical trials to help develop new therapies.
“This support from the NIH is further recognition of the important role that the eye and vision play, not only in the way we experience our world, but also as a window into our cognitive and overall health,” said Kathryn A. Colby, MD, PhD, the Elisabeth J. Cohen, MD, Professor of Ophthalmology and chair of the Department of Ophthalmology. “Dr. Srinivasan and Dr. Balcer are leaders in advancing the emerging science of oculomics, and it is exciting to see this important work progress so that one day soon we can slow the progression of these debilitating diseases.”
Other NYU Grossman School of Medicine researchers involved in the project include Kevin Chuen Wing C. Chan, PhD; Un J. Kang, MD; Rachel Kenney, PhD; Arjun V. Masurkar, MD, PhD; Yasha S. Modi, MD; Giulietta M. Riboldi, MD, PhD; Shy Shoham, PhD; and Einar M. Sigurdsson, PhD.