(August 17, 2012) Sticky plaques of proteins called amyloids mark several
different, though related degenerative brain diseases including Alzheimer’s,
Parkinson’s and Creutzfeld-Jacobs. The symptoms of these disorders overlap and
methods to diagnose and monitor them are not very advanced.
To solve this problem, scientists at the University of
California, San Diego, have devised several new fluorescent probes that change
color depending on what type of amyloid they encounter. Because amyloids
accumulate in the eye as well as the brain, their discovery offers hope that
one day neurodegenerative diseases could be differentially diagnosed with
simple eye drops or ointment and an eye exam.