Determining retinal biomarkers for the early diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is currently diagnosed by motor symptoms. These symptoms are only present following around 50% degeneration of the brain cells affected by PD. If earlier diagnosis could be made, interventions could be implemented that may slow brain degeneration and delay the progression of the disease. Non-motor symptoms of PD, such as vision problems, appear much earlier on in the disease progression, but are not specific to PD so cannot be used for diagnosis. The vision problems are thought to be due to altered functioning of the retina caused by brain impairment in PD. Developments in retinal diagnostic techniques and recording technology have opened the possibility of determining retinal changes that, together, may be deemed specific enough to give an accurate diagnosis of PD. We hope to determine recordable retinal changes that can
be used for early diagnosis of PD using these techniques and technologies.

Faculty Supervisor:

Martin Parent;Daniel Côté

Student:

Partner:

Zilia

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

Université Laval

Program: