Deficits in color detection in patients with Alzheimer disease

PLoS One. 2022 Jan 4;17(1):e0262226. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262226. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Deficits in color vision and related retinal changes hold promise as early screening biomarkers in patients with Alzheimer's disease. This study aimed to determine a cut-off score that can screen for Alzheimer's dementia using a novel color vision threshold test named the red, green, and blue (RGB) modified color vision plate test (RGB-vision plate). We developed the RGB-vision plate consisting of 30 plates in which the red and green hues of Ishihara Plate No.22 were sequentially adjusted. A total of 108 older people participated in the mini-mental state examination (MMSE), Ishihara plate, and RGB-vision plate. For the analyses, the participants were divided into two groups: Alzheimer's dementia (n = 42) and healthy controls (n = 38). K-means cluster analysis and ROC curve analysis were performed to identify the most appropriate cut-off score. As a result, the cut-off screening score for Alzheimer's dementia on the RGB-vision plate was set at 25, with an area under the curve of 0.773 (p<0.001). Moreover, there was a negative correlation between the RGB-vision plate thresholds and MMSE scores (r = -0.36, p = 0.02). In conclusion, patients with Alzheimer's dementia had a deficit in color vision. The RGB-vision plate is a potential early biomarker that may adequately detect Alzheimer's dementia.

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Alzheimer Disease / complications*
  • Biomarkers / analysis
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Cognitive Dysfunction / diagnosis*
  • Cognitive Dysfunction / etiology
  • Color Vision / physiology*
  • Color Vision Defects / diagnosis*
  • Color Vision Defects / etiology
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mass Screening / methods*
  • Mental Status and Dementia Tests / statistics & numerical data*
  • Middle Aged
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • ROC Curve

Substances

  • Biomarkers

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the Chung Ang University Research Scholarship Grant in 2020.