For this purpose, the researchers used a specialized scanning method called OCT, Optical Coherence Tomography. It is already used by opticians and is a quick, accurate and gentle method that does not cause discomfort.
OCT uses light beams to scan the retina in three dimensions, which can provide revealing details important in identifying the disease in question.
The researchers believe that in the future the eye scan will make it significantly easier, faster and safer to determine whether a person has kidney disease and how far the disease has progressed.
The symptoms disappear
Kidney disease is a growing problem, as it can follow in the wake of common health problems such as diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure.
OCT scanning can detect kidney disease early, which is an important advantage. Kidney disease often worsens without causing symptoms in the early stages, and with current methods doctors can only detect the disease when half of the kidney function has been lost.
“We hope that our study, which shows that the eye provides a useful insight into kidney function, will help to diagnose more kidney diseases at an early stage, so that treatment can be started before the disease worsens,” says Neeraj Dhaun, professor of nephrology at University of Edinburgh and affiliated with the Center for Cardiovascular Science.
The reason why the eye is so important for diagnosing kidney disease is that it is the only place in the body where it is possible to observe the flow of blood through the smallest blood vessels in the body, the so-called microvascular circulation. This process is often affected by kidney disease.
The thickness of the retina as a measure
The OCT scan uses specialized beams that create a cross-section of the retina within a few minutes. Photographs of these cross-sections make it possible to find important details that indicate kidney disease.
The Scottish researchers analyzed OCT images from 204 patients with various stages of kidney disease. Some of the patients were on the waiting list for a kidney transplant. The researchers compared the OCT images from the kidney patients with corresponding images from 86 healthy people.
They could clearly see that the kidney patients had thinner retinas than the control subjects, which is probably related to reduced microcirculation.
Much more gentle for the patients
The researchers also found that the retinas of the kidney patients became thinner and thinner as kidney function declined. In this way, the thickness of the retina can be used as a measure of how advanced the disease is.
However, the change is reversible. As renal function recovered, retinal thickness increased. The thickening occurred particularly quickly in those who had received a kidney transplant.
The researchers hope that the research can be used both to identify kidney disease at an early stage and to develop new medicines. The advantage here is that OCT scanning of retinal changes can reveal whether the treatment is effective or not.
It is also important that the new diagnostic method with OCT is so gentle.
In many cases, kidney patients have to undergo invasive procedures as part of monitoring their kidney disease, and this happens at the same time that they are already forced to undergo tiring treatments such as dialysis.
The researchers from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland have published the study in the journal Nature Communications.
2023-12-09 08:08:41
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