Abstract
Purpose :
To investigate whether slab en face optical coherence tomography (OCT) reflects structural changes of diabetic inner retina.
Methods :
We retrospectively reviewed 86 eyes of 86 subjects who visited Kobe University Hospital and were followed up for more than 3 years. Subjects with a history of vitrectomy or who underwent any intraocular surgery during follow-up period were excluded. Slab en face OCT images in the inner retina were obtained from 20 μm thickness under internal limiting membrane using Cirrus HD-OCT®, and the red area in a pseudo-color image of slab en face OCT was measured by Image J software and was defined as a slab value. Change in slab values over time was examined, and slab values from different stages of diabetic retinopathy were compared. The effects of hyperglycemia on the structure of the inner retina was assessed using genetically modified diabetic mice (InsCre;Pdk1flox/flox mice).
Results :
The mean age of the subjects was 61.9±12.1 years, and 37% were women. At baseline, 22(26%) had no diabetic retinopathy (no DR), 11(13%) had mild non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR), 14(16%) had moderate NPDR, 11(13%) had severe NPDR, and 21(37%) had proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). The mean slab value became significantly lower with advancing of DR stage (p<0.001). After a mean follow-up of 4.6±1.6 years, the mean slab value significantly decreased from 33.4±17.1 at baseline to 26.4±17.1 at final visit (p<0.001). The immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated the loss of ganglion cell axon bundles and the thinning of laminin-positive innermost retinal layer in diabetic mice.
Conclusions :
Slab en face OCT is likely useful to evaluate subtle structural change of the inner retina in diabetic eyes.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.