Early Alzheimer's detection by examining the patient's eyes!
Still under development but looks promising.

This appears to be one of the latest "It Steam Engines come Steam 
Engine time" medical areas.
Auckland University are about to publish a paper revealing 'ground 
breaking' research which allows early detection of (some forms of?) 
Alzheimer's disease by eye inspection using non invasive real time 
imaging with a confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope.

Which appears to be more or less exactly what these researchers at 
University College are reporting in this two year old (Sept 7, 2004) 
paper. Alzheimer's &  Parkinson's are expressly mentioned.  Tracking 
disease progress is said to be possible.

         http://www.pnas.org/cgi/reprint/101/36/13352

(If you want to print this use the print button as other means of 
printing may fail.)

No doubt there are differences and advances, but it sounds like the 
general principle is being investigated out all over.

Auckland University report

        http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&ObjectID=10400123
_______________

Gargoyling
                        alzheimer's "scanning laser ophthalmoscope"

turns up quite a lot of other related activity.

        http://www.google.co.nz/search?num=100&hl=en&newwindow=1&safe=off&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=alzheimer%27s+%22scanning+laser+ophthalmoscope%22&spell=1


____________________

Some other interesting eye - brain material

        http://www.biopsychology.com/index.php?descType=always&page=0&id=10&type=chapter






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