WCM-Qatar researchers use eye exam to identify nerve damage in long COVID patients

Doha: Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) have shown that a specialized eye examination can be used to identify underlying nerve damage in patients diagnosed with long COVID. 

The examination technique – called corneal confocal microscopy (CCM) – could be used as a diagnostic tool to confirm suspected cases of long COVID, say the researchers.  CCM is a non-invasive eye examination which enables real-time imaging of the corneal nerve fibers, damage to which provides a tell-tale sign of a range of neurodegenerative conditions, including diabetic neuropathy, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, dementia – and now, long COVID. The use of CCM as a diagnostic tool for these conditions (and a number of others) was pioneered by Dr. Rayaz Malik, professor of medicine and assistant dean for clinical investigations at WCM-Q.