How Eye Scans Transform Aging and Heart Disease Detection

An eye test or retinal scan shows the structural biology of tiny blood vessels. Changes in blood vessel structures can help predict biological aging, and possible aging disorders such as dementia. By combining these tiny blood biomarkers with person's genetic data, feasible heart diseases, and stroke risk can also be predicted. Scientists at McMaster University and Population Health Research Institute (PHRI) found that these scans function as a powerful, non-invasive technique to study the overall status of vascular health (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Mendelian randomization study implicates inflammaging biomarkers in retinal vasculature, cardiovascular

Go to source) .

Such earlier studies contribute to advance disease intervention and prevention.

The study was published in Sciences Advances.

“By connecting retinal scans, genetics, and blood biomarkers, we have uncovered molecular pathways that help explain how aging affects the vascular system,” says Marie Pigeyre, senior author of the study and associate professor with McMaster’s Department of Medicine.

Retinal Scans Mirror Systemic Circulatory Changes

“The eye provides a unique, non-invasive view into the body’s circulatory system. Changes in the retinal blood vessels often mirror changes occurring throughout the body's small vessels,” adds Pigeyre, a scientist with PHRI.

To conduct the study, researchers combined retinal scans, genetic data and blood sample analyses from over 74,000 participants across four major cohorts: the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA), the Genetics of Diabetes Audit and Research Tayside Study (GoDARTS), the UK Biobank (UKBB), and the PHRI Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study.

They found that people with simpler, less branched blood vessels were at increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and showed signs of biological aging, such as higher inflammation and shorter lifespan.

Focusing on Molecular Pathways and Vascular Status

Currently, assessing age-related diseases like heart disease, stroke and dementia require multiple tests. The hope is that retinal scans alone could eventually be used as a quick, accessible way to assess aging and cardiovascular risk, but for now, the full picture still requires deeper clinical assessment.

Another important aspect of the study came from reviewing blood biomarkers and genetic data. Through this, researchers uncovered not just associations, but potential biological causes behind changes in the eye’s blood vessels.

This helped them identify specific proteins that may drive aging and disease.

Two of the more notable proteins are MMP12 and IgG–Fc receptor IIb – both of which are linked to inflammation and vascular aging. According to Pigeyre, these proteins could be potential targets for future drugs.

“Our findings point to potential drug targets for slowing vascular aging, reducing the burden of cardiovascular diseases, and ultimately improving lifespan,” she says.

Reference:

1. Mendelian randomization study implicates inflammaging biomarkers in retinal vasculature, cardiovascular diseases and longevity-(https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adu1985)

Source-Eurekalert