Past events: Iñigo Gabilondo. The retina as a biomarker of brain diseases

What: The retina as a biomarker of brain diseases

Where: BCBL Auditorium and zoom room # 2 (If you would like to attend to this meeting reserve at info@bcbl.eu)

Who: Iñigo Gabilondo, MD, PhD, Ikerbasque Research Fellow, Neurodegenerative Diseases Group, BioCruces, Bizkaia.

When:  Thursday,  Jan 26th at 2:30 PM.

The retina is an embryological extension of the central nervous system (CNS) and is composed of interconnected specialized neurons that communicate via the optic nerve with the primary visual pathway of the brain, with which the retina shares surface molecules, neurotransmitters, and innumerable biological processes. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a rapid, non-invasive in vivo imaging technology that can capture micron-resolution changes in retinal architecture with high reproducibility. The use of OCT is gaining attention in Neurology as a biomarker to monitor neurodegeneration and as a tool to improve the accuracy of diagnosis and prognosis of CNS diseases. Some of the most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease have visual manifestations that often precede conventional diagnosis and histopathological changes in the retina comparable to those of the brain. In this presentation we will review different studies from the last decade that support the use of the retina as a window to study brain diseases."