Abstract
Purpose :
We described retinal sublayer analyses of diabetic macular ischemia (DMI) using optical coherence
tomography (Heidelberg, Spectralis)
Methods :
Clinical and imaging data were collected from 20 patients with type 2 diabetes. Qualitative grading of
DMI severity was determined according to criteria defined by the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study. Quantitative analysis of foveal avascular zone (FAZ) was performed using custom software. OCT images were analysed by using the segmentation software of Spectralis OCT. Continuous variables are expressed as median, [75th percentile-25th percentile (interquartile range)]. Mann Whitney U test was used to test non-normal distributed continues variants.
Results :
In all eyes, the ganglion cell layer was thinner in eyes with DMI (16,5,[25-13 (IQR 12)] vs. (10,[20-8
(IQR 7,5)]μm) though this did not reach statistically significance (P = 0.056). The ganglion cell layer
was however significantly correlated to the FAZ area (mm2) (r=-0.47, p=0.04). We further observed a
negative correlation between the inner plexiform layer central volume and FAZ area (r=-0.51, p=0.027)
but not the inner plexiform layer total volume (r=-0.18, p=0.47). No relationships between retinal sublayer measurements were observed with visual acuity.
Conclusions :
Thinning of retinal ganglion cell layer was observed in eyes with DMI. If confirmed in larger prospective cohorts, retinal ganglion cell layer thickness measurements may serve as a surrogate marker for diabetic macular ischaemia.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.