Alzheimer's Disease and the Eye

This book is a compendium of the worldwide studies of Alzheimer’s disease utilizing the eye as a biomarker, or as a treatment method, that are registered with the United States National Institutes of Health website, clinicaltrials.gov. Clinicaltrials.gov is the largest listing of research studies in the world. The study titles are provided, as is the country of origin and the Clinical Trial Number in order to make it easier for the reader to locate the study and obtain further information.

New drug development is costly and time consuming. If through the use of biomarkers, study durations and research costs decrease, there is a greater possibility of a new and effective drug to treat this devastating disease. The eye offers the possibility of early diagnosis and of treatment.

Alzheimer’s Disease and the Eye is a valuable resource for ophthalmologists, optometrists, other physicians, and researchers.

Part 1: Introduction.- Chapter 1. Alzheimer's Disease.- Chapter 2. Rates of Dementia.- Chapter 3. Biomarkers and Clinical Endpoints.- Chapter 4. Ocular Biomarkers.- Part 2: Diagnosis.- Chapter 5. Biochemical and Neuroimaging.- Chapter 6. Cognitive Decline.- Chapter 7. EEG/ERP.- Chapter 8. Eye Tracking.- Chapter 9. Light Intervention.- Chapter 10. Retina.- Chapter 11. Tears.- Chapter 12. Telemedicine.- Chapter 13. Virtual Reality.- Part 3: Treatment.- Chapter 14. Recruiting Trials in the US.- Chapter 15. Not Yet Recruiting Trials in the US.

Jeffrey N. Weiss, M.D., is the former Chief of Retinal Surgery at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, Faculty of Harvard Medical School, and Visiting Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Dr. Weiss is the author of more than 100 publications, including 20 books, holds more than 20 U.S. and foreign patents and has been a Reviewer for multiple scholarly journals. He has served as a Visiting Professor, performed surgery, and lectured both nationally and internationally. Dr. Weiss is also the founder of two companies, Ocular Research Associates Inc., and Micron Ophthalmic, Inc., which have manufactured and sold Dr. Weiss’ inventions worldwide.

Dr. Weiss was the first to invent the equipment and develop the technique to safely perform retinal vessel cannulation. This surgery remains the only option for patients with severe stroke in the eye. He was also the first to report the use of hyperbaric oxygen treatment tosuccessfully treat dry age-related macular degeneration and longer standing central retinal artery occlusions.

Dr. Weiss performed the first retinal stem cell surgery in 2010, and is the Principal Investigator of The Stem Cell Ophthalmology Treatment Studies I/II, the largest retinal and optic nerve stem cell studies in the world, and The Neurologic Stem Cell Treatment Study. The studies are Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved, registered with NIH, and listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.