Look me in the eye and I’ll tell you how healthy your kidneys are

Anna Sandner

4.1.2024

Translation: Katherine Martin

Kidney disease can be detected early by examining a person’s eyes. That’s according to a new study conducted by researchers in Edinburgh. 3D retina scans allow kidney disease to be diagnosed earlier and less invasively than before.

In the future, you might hear your doctor say something like, «Look me in the eye and I’ll tell you how healthy your kidneys are.» According to a new study, the condition of the retina can be used to determine whether your kidneys are working properly.

Earlier, easier diagnosis via retinal scan

Neeraj Dhaun, Professor of Nephrology at the University of Edinburgh and co-author of the study, anticipates 3D scans will lead to earlier diagnoses: «We hope that this research, which shows that the eye is a useful window into the kidney, will help identify more people with early kidney disease – providing an opportunity to start treatments before it progresses.»

Tiny blood vessels reveal clues on kidney health

But what do your eyes have to do with kidney health? Kidney diseases often impair blood flow within the body’s smallest vessels. This blood flow, referred to as «microvascular circulation», can be determined by scanning the retina. The results are then used to draw conclusions on the state of the patient’s kidneys. Researchers use optical coherence tomography (OCT scans for short) to acquire the images. Cross-sectional images are used to visualise each individual layer of the retina. Chronic kidney disease patients have a thinner retina than healthy people.

Thin retina an indication of kidney disease

During the study, the scientists compared the retinas of 204 kidney patients with those of 86 healthy volunteers. In doing so, they discovered that the retina thins as kidney disease progresses. By contrast, the retinas of transplant patients who’d received a healthy kidney got thicker as their kidney health improved.

Regular eye scans allow early detection

In the future, regular retinal screening could be established, allowing kidney disease to be caught early. This would prevent patients having to undergo far more time-consuming, unpleasant examinations, and allow kidney diseases to be diagnosed earlier. What’s more, positive changes to the retina could be used to determine the effectiveness of a treatment. Finally, this new diagnostic method might help develop drugs for chronically ill patients.

Read about how lemon juice helps with kidney stones here:

Header image: Kitreel/Shutterstock

Anna Sandner

Senior Editor

Anna.Sandner@galaxus.de

Science editor and biologist. I love animals and am fascinated by plants, their abilities and everything you can do with them. That's why my favourite place is always the outdoors - somewhere in nature, preferably in my wild garden.

---

Background information

Interesting facts about products, behind-the-scenes looks at manufacturers and deep-dives on interesting people.

Show all

These articles might also interest you