Usefulness of ophthalmology psychophysical test for diagnosis and monitoring support in mild Alzheimer’s disease

Purpose Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder of the central nervous system characterized by cortical atrophy most pronounced in the medial temporal and posterior temporoparietal regions. The goal of the present study was to examine the visual pathway in patients with mild AD (GDS 4) by means of a different psychophysical test, specifically —visual acuity (VA), contrast sensitivity (CS), colour perception and perception digital test (PDT)— and to compare them with an age‐matched control. Methods Twenty‐three patients with mild AD and 27 controls were examined at Hospital Clínico San Carlos in Madrid (Spain). Subjects underwent a complete ophthalmological examination (VA, refraction, colour test, biomicroscopy, IOP, dilated fundoscopy, and OCT). Results In comparison with the control group, patients with mild AD presented a significant decrease in the VA, in the CS (for all the spatial frequencies), in the colour perception (unspecific errors blue axis) and PDT (p