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Retinal biomarkers in cognitive impairment and dementia: Structural, functional, and molecular insights
Min Yan, Hongyu Zhou, Zixiao Li, Yongjun Wang. Alzheimer s & Dementia, 2025-09-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Cognitive impairment and dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), pose a global health crisis, necessitating non-invasive biomarkers for early detection. This review highlights the retina, an accessible extension of the central nervous system (CNS), as a window to cerebral pathology through structural, functional, and molecular alterations. By synthesizing interdisciplinary evidence, we identify retinal biomarkers as promising tools for early diagnosis and risk stratification. Nevertheless, translating biomarkers into clinical practice faces significant translational hurdles, including methodological heterogeneity, confounding variables, lack of standardized protocols, and insufficient longitudinal validation in diverse populations. Overcoming these challenges through rigorous standardization and robust validation studies is essential to establish the clinical utility of retinal biomarkers. HIGHLIGHTS: Stage-specific diagnostic potential: Retinal biomarkers (e.g., OCT/OCTA changes, eye movements, molecular deposits) show alterations correlating with cognitive impairment stages (preclinical AD to dementia), assisting stage differentiation. Reflecting cerebral pathology: Multimodal retinal alterations (structural, functional, molecular) correlate with key brain pathologies (amyloid/tau burden, atrophy, small vessel disease), indicating shared pathways. Translation gaps and future: Clinical adoption faces barriers (method heterogeneity, confounders, limited validation). Future requires rigorous screening of candidate retinal biomarkers, extensive multicenter validation, and artificial intelligence (AI)-facilitated clinical translation.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Yan, M., Zhou, H., Li, Z., & Wang, Y. (2025). Retinal biomarkers in cognitive impairment and dementia: Structural, functional, and molecular insights. Alzheimer s & Dementia. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.70672
Vancouver
Yan M, Zhou H, Li Z, Wang Y. Retinal biomarkers in cognitive impairment and dementia: Structural, functional, and molecular insights. Alzheimer s & Dementia. 2025. doi:10.1002/alz.70672. PMID: 40927874.
BibTeX
@article{yan2025-40927874,
author = {Yan, Min and Zhou, Hongyu and Li, Zixiao and Wang, Yongjun},
title = {{Retinal biomarkers in cognitive impairment and dementia: Structural, functional, and molecular insights}},
journal = {Alzheimer s \& Dementia},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1002/alz.70672},
pmid = {40927874},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.70672}
}
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Key findings
- Nevertheless, translating biomarkers into clinical practice faces significant translational hurdles, including methodological heterogeneity, confounding variables, lack of standardized protocols, and insufficient longitudinal validation in diverse populations.
Why it matters
This review describes retinal changes as possible non-invasive markers for early diagnosis and risk stratification in cognitive impairment and dementia. It states that translating these markers into practice faces hurdles such as inconsistent methods, confounding factors, and insufficient long-term validation, so no treatment or cure is offered.
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Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 51/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Alzheimer s & Dementia) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Alzheimer s & Dementia: journal h-index 228 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A longitudinal study following the same people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 19 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 6.3 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 12.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 19 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author Yongjun Wang: h-index 18 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College: institution h-index 950 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 40927874) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 51 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
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