Edinburgh researchers have shown that non-invasive 3D eye scans can be used to detect and monitor kidney disease in its earliest stages.
The University of Edinburgh team looked at OCT images from 204 patients at different stages of kidney disease, including patients with kidney transplants, alongside 86 healthy volunteers.
Funded by Kidney Research UK, the study found that patients with chronic kidney disease had thinner retinas compared to healthy volunteers, which progressed as kidney function declined.
The peer-reviewed study, published in Nature journal, also found that the retinal changes observed were reversed when kidney function was restored following a successful transplant.
Dr Neeraj Dhaun, professor of nephrology at the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for cardiovascular science, said: ‘We hope that this research will help identify more people with early kidney disease – providing an opportunity to start treatments before it progresses.
‘It also offers potential for new clinical trials and the development of drug treatments for a chronic disease that, so far, has proved extremely difficult to treat.’