3D eye scans can indicate vital evidence regarding kidney health that could support to track the development of disease, research recommends. The development could transform monitoring of kidney disease, which often develop without symptoms in the primary stages.
Specialists say the technology has capabilities to support early diagnosis as present screening tests cannot distinguish the condition until half of the kidney function has been lost.
Scientists used highly-magnified pictures to notice changes to the retina – the layer of tissue at the back of the eye that senses light and transmit signals to the brain. They found that the images give a rapid, non-invasive way to screen kidney health.
The eye is the only part of the body where it is possible to notice a key development called microvascular circulation – and this movement of blood through the body’s smallest vessels is often affected in kidney disease.
Scientists at the University of Edinburgh examined whether 3D images of the retina, taken using a technology called optical coherence tomography (OCT), might be utilized to recognize and precisely predict the development of kidney disease.
OCT scanners – used in most high common opticians – use light waves to generate a cross-sectional image of the retina, displaying each separate layer, within a few minutes.
The team observed at OCT images from 204 patients at diverse stages of kidney disease, as well as transplant patients, together with 86 healthy volunteers.
They found that patients with chronic kidney disease had thinner retinas compared with healthy volunteers. The experiment also exhibited that thinning of the retina advanced as kidney function weakened.
These variations were inverted when kidney function was reinstated following a successful transplant. Patients with the most severe form of the ailment, who received a kidney transplant, experienced rapid thickening of their retinas subsequent to surgery.
More individuals than ever are in danger of kidney disease, which is frequently caused by other circumstances that put a strain on the kidneys, including diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure.
With more study, regular eye checks may one day help early recognition and monitoring to avert the disease from developing. It could also permit patients to make lifestyle changes that decrease the risk of health problems, experts say.
The technology, maintained by Heidelberg Engineering’s imaging platform, could also help the development of new drugs, the study team says.
It could do so by determining variations in the retina that show whether – and in what way – the kidney responds to possible new treatments.
The scientists say additional studies – together with longer-term clinical trials in greater groups of patients – are required before the technology can be regularly used.
A projected 7.2million individuals in the UK live with chronic kidney disease – more than 10% of the population. Costing the NHS around £7billion each year.
The study is published in Nature Communications [URL will become active after embargo lifts]: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-43125-1. It was backed by Kidney Research UK, and maintained by Edinburgh Innovations, the University’s commercialization facility.
Dr Aisling McMahon, executive director of research and strategy at Kidney Research UK, informed, Kidney patients frequently face aggressive procedures to monitor their kidney health, regularly on top of receiving grueling treatments like dialysis. This revolutionary study displays the potential for a far kinder way of nursing kidney health. We are continuing to support the team as they examine whether their method could also be used to identify and mediate in kidney disease earlier.
