Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To investigate the relationship between blood flow velocity of perifoveal capillary and retinal thickness at the central fovea in diabetic patients with clinically significant macular edema (CSME). Methods: Subjects studied included diabetic patients with CSME (n=22), diabetic patients without CSME (n=22), and healthy volunteers (n=16). The perifoveal blood flow velocity was measured by the Tracing method using a scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO) where fluorescein angiogram detected and analyzed fluorescein dots flowing in the perifoveal capillaries. The retinal thickness at the central fovea was measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT). Results: By using the Tracing method, accurate detection of fluorescent dot movement and the perifoveal blood flow velocity analysis was possible in patients with CSME. The perifoveal capillary blood flow velocity(145.9±14.1dot/s) was significantly lower in patients with CSME when compared to either patients without CSME (189.2±31.4dot/s), or the healthy controls (230.7±16.6dot/s) (p<0.0001). The perifoveal blood flow velocity was significantly correlated to the retinal thickness at the central fovea (p<0.0001). Conclusions: Long–term reduction of perifoveal blood flow velocity may play an important role of the development and the progression of diabetic macular edema.
Keywords: diabetic retinopathy • imaging methods (CT, FA, ICG, MRI, OCT, RTA, SLO, ultrasound) • macula/fovea