The aging process and age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), are very heterogeneous and multifactorial, making it challenging to diagnose the disease based solely on genetic, behavioral tests, or clinical history. It is yet to be explained what ophthalmological tests relate specifically to aging and AD. To this end, we have selected the common degu (Octodon degus) as a model for aging which develops AD-like signs to conduct ophthalmological screening methods that could be clinical markers of aging and AD. We investigated ocular health using ophthalmoscopy, fundus photography, intraocular pressure (IOP), and pupillary light reflex (PLR). The results showed significant presence of cataracts in adult degus and IOP was also found to increase significantly with advancing age. Age had a significant effect on the maximum pupil constriction but other pupil parameters changed in an age-independent manner (PIPR retention index, resting pupil size, constriction velocity, redilation plateau). We concluded that degus have underlying factors at play that regulate PLR and may be connected to sympathetic, parasympathetic, and melanopsin retinal ganglion cell (ipRGC) deterioration. This study provides the basis for the use of ocular tests as screening methods for the aging process and monitoring of neurodegeneration in non-invasive ways.

中文翻译：

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Octodon degus的眼部健康可作为与年龄相关和与年龄无关的神经变性的临床指标

衰老过程和与年龄有关的疾病（例如阿尔茨海默氏病（AD））非常异质且是多因素的，因此仅凭遗传，行为测试或临床病史来诊断该疾病就颇具挑战性。尚待解释什么眼科测试专门与衰老和AD相关。为此，我们选择了常见的degu（Octodon degus）作为衰老模型，该模型会发展出类似AD的体征，以进行可能是衰老和AD的临床标志物的眼科筛查方法。我们使用检眼镜，眼底照相，眼内压（IOP）和瞳孔光反射（PLR）调查了眼睛的健康状况。结果表明，成年天疱病中存在大量白内障，并且随着年龄的增长，眼压也显着增加。年龄对最大瞳孔收缩有显着影响，但其他瞳孔参数以与年龄无关的方式发生变化（PIPR保留指数，静止瞳孔大小，收缩速度，再狭窄期）。我们得出的结论是，天疱疮具有调节PLR的潜在因素，并且可能与交感神经，副交感神经和黑视蛋白视网膜神经节细胞（ipRGC）恶化有关。这项研究为使用眼科检查作为衰老过程的筛选方法和以非侵入性方式监测神经变性提供了基础。和黑素视蛋白视网膜神经节细胞（ipRGC）恶化。这项研究为使用眼科检查作为衰老过程的筛选方法和以非侵入性方式监测神经变性提供了基础。和黑素视蛋白视网膜神经节细胞（ipRGC）恶化。这项研究为使用眼科检查作为衰老过程的筛选方法和以非侵入性方式监测神经变性提供了基础。