EARLY DETECTION OF HALLMARK MOLECULAR DEPOSITS IN THE RETINA FOR DEMENTIA AND RELATED NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDERS

Ageing population in the western world brings socio-economic implications and provides new challenges for the healthcare system. Dementia and related neurodegenerative disorders affecting the elderly deprive cognition, memory, self-sustenance and cause death in late stages. Even if patients consult the doctors as early as first symptoms appear, that usually occurs after several years of disease progression with already irreversible organ damage. New research targets to overcome the problem of late diagnosis and to give efficient and cost-effective solutions in health management of the ageing population. This paper summarises, in a literature review, the latest advancements in the field of non-invasive imaging of hallmark deposits in the retina for dementia and related neurodegenerative disorders. Keywords: retina imaging, dementia, neurodegenerative disorders, fluorochrome, hallmark deposits