New research suggests deterioration of the retina, or retinopathy, as determined with retinal photography, is an independent predictor of stroke or stroke-related death in older adults without diabetes."The blood vessels in the eyes share similar anatomic characteristics and other characteristics with the blood vessels in the brain,” lead author Dr. Paul Mitchell, from the University of Sydney in Australia, and colleagues note. “More research needs to be done to confirm these results, but it’s exciting to think that this fairly simple procedure could help us predict whether someone will be more likely to have a stroke several years later."The findings, which appear in the medical journal Neurology, are based on a study of 3,654 subjects, age 49 years or older, who had retinal photographs taken and then were followed-up for 7 years to assess cerebrovascular events.
