If you could predict how well your brain is aging and intervene accordingly, how much would that be worth? Actually, the value is priceless, for no matter how well you are aging overall — if you can’t remember what you said from one day to the next, that will ruin everything else.
A primary objective for the CR Way research project that we launched with the help of leading scientists is to evaluate the brain health of CR Way members by using optical coherence tomography (OCT). This amazing technology uses lasers to scan the retina thousands of times per second. Within minutes, it can provide an image of your retinal nerve fiber layer thickness, optic nerve integrity, and other health measures that show retinal health in unparalleled detail.
The retina is an extension of brain tissue. OCT is now recognized as able to provide insight into how your brain is aging and your risk of neurological disease. Here, for example, is how doctors at Johns Hopkins use OCT technology to evaluate brain damage in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.
Using the Eye as a “Window into the Brain”
October 17, 2012
— Quick, cheap retina scan can predict brain damage caused by multiple sclerosis
An inexpensive, five-minute eye scan can accurately assess the amount of brain damage in people with the debilitating autoimmune disorder multiple sclerosis (MS), and offer clues about how quickly the disease is progressing, according to results of two Johns Hopkins studies.
“The eye is the window into the brain and by measuring how healthy the eye is, we can determine how healthy the rest of the brain is,” says Peter A. Calabresi, M.D., a professor of neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and leader of the studies described in recent issues of The Lancet Neurology and the Archives of Neurology. “Eye scans are not that expensive, are really safe, and are widely used in ophthalmology; and now that we have evidence of their predictive value in MS, we think they are ready for prime time. We should be using this new quantitative tool to learn more about disease progression, including nerve damage and brain atrophy.”
This blog is an excerpt from the full blog on LivingtheCRWay.com. To read it, along with 290 other cutting-edge blogs, become a free Healthy Start member, log in and use this link.
Looking forward to welcoming you to the CR Way community.
Paul & Meredith
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