Retinal Optical Coherence Tomography in Neurodegenerative Diseases (Review)

Increased aging of the population makes problems of the diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases socially more significant. The ability to use the retina as a "window" to the central nervous system has attracted great attention in recent years. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive method for in vivo studies of various conditions to generate high-resolution images of the tissue cross sections under study. Retinal OCT parameters are considered to be potential surrogate biomarkers of early-stage neurodegenerative disorders, and have already been included in the guidelines for diagnosing neuromyelitis optica. This review summarizes and analyzes the current information on retinal changes according to OCT data in neurodegeneration in vitro and in vivo in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. The application of ultra-high resolution OCT for the diagnosis of the early stages of neurodegeneration is also considered. Morphological and functional links and possible mechanisms for the retinal lesions in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, and their similarities in glaucoma are discussed. The efficacy of using this method in the diagnosis of neurodegenerative processes at an early stage is likely to be increased by the development of instrumentation and improvements in the design study for carrying out investigations in different groups of patients, including those having hereditary diseases of the nervous system.