Retinal thinning of inner sub-layers is associated with cortical atrophy in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease: a longitudinal multimodal in vivo study.

Background: It has been claimed that the retina can be used as a window to study brain disorders. However, concerning Alzheimer's disease (AD), it still remains controversial whether changes occurring in the brain and retina are associated. We aim to understand when changes start appearing in the retina and brain, how changes progress, and if they are correlated.

The Retina as a Window or Mirror of the Brain Changes Detected in Alzheimer's Disease: Critical Aspects to Unravel.

Alzheimer's disease is the most frequent cause of dementia worldwide, representing a global health challenge, with a massive impact on the quality of life of Alzheimer's disease patients and their relatives. The diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease constitutes a real challenge, because the symptoms manifest years after the first degenerative changes occurring in the brain and the diagnosis is based on invasive and/or expensive techniques. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify new reliable biomarkers to detect Alzheimer's disease at an early stage.

Isolation of human umbilical arterial smooth muscle cells (HUASMC).

The human umbilical cord (UC) is a biological sample that can be easily obtained just after birth. This biological sample is, most of the time, discarded and their collection does not imply any added risk to the newborn or mother s health. Moreover no ethical concerns are raised.