MGH

A research team led by investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) has discovered that amyloid-beta (A-beta), the protein that forms plaques in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease, can also be detected in the lens of the human eye. The investigators were able to identify A-beta in lens samples from elderly individuals with and without the disorder; however, an unusual pattern of amyloid deposits was found only on the lenses of Alzheimer’s patients.