title: Developing retinal biomarkers of neurological disease: an analytical perspective.
abstract: The inaccessibility of the brain poses a problem for neuroscience. Scientists have traditionally responded by developing biomarkers for brain physiology and disease. The retina is an attractive source of biomarkers since it shares many features with the brain. Some even describe the retina as a 'window' to the brain, implying that retinal signs are analogous to brain disease features. However, new analytical methods are needed to show whether or not retinal signs really are equivalent to brain abnormalities, since this requires greater evidence than direct associations between retina and brain. We, therefore propose a new way to think about, and test, how clearly one might see the brain through the retinal window, using cerebral malaria as a case study.
authors.affiliation: Department of Eye & Vision Science, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.|Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme, Blantyre, Malawi.|Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: Ian J C
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: MacCormick
authors.affiliation: Department of Eye & Vision Science, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.|Department of Biostatistics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Czanner
authors.affiliation: Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Faragher
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis*; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D016779:Malaria, Cerebral / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000378:metabolism; D012160:Retina / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: biomarker; brain; cerebral malaria; proxy marker; retina; surrogate end point