Benjamin Kim, MD, retina specialist at the Scheie Eye Institute, Associate Professor, and Vice-Chair for Clinical Operations, has been awarded a $2.13 million dollar award from the National Institute of Aging and National Institutes of Health. This award will fund an ongoing multi-year study evaluating retinal imaging and retinal tissue of patients with different forms of dementia—specifically, frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) and Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Kim’s study represents a team science collaboration with the UPenn Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, known for its expertise in FTD and atypical forms of Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Kim’s established work has previously demonstrated that FTD patients with brain pathology related to the protein tau also experience photoreceptor loss within their retinas. This current study will further explore this finding and compare cross-sectional and longitudinal retinal imaging among different subtypes of FTD as well as Alzheimer’s disease. Significantly, the project will include retinal tissue analysis in the lab to correlate findings with retinal imaging data.
This research is particularly critical as FTD is as prevalent as Alzheimer’s disease in people under 65 and there is no current approved treatment for FTD in existence—thus, it is essential to pinpoint biomarkers for FTD, distinguishing it from Alzheimer’s disease, and allowing proper enrollment into clinical trials testing new therapies.
The retina has significant biomarker potential because it is an extension of central nervous system tissue that can be imaged at very high resolution. Dr. Kim’s research will continue to make strong advancements in this quickly-growing research field as he embarks on a multi-year study to spotlight the retina as an FTD biomarker.
Normal controls and patients are being recruited for the study.
by Maressa Park