Abstract
Purpose :
Current approaches to understanding diabetic macular edema (DME) have focused on the macula, so the role of the mid-peripheral retina is an important knowledge gap. The hypothesis of this study is that eyes with greater midperipheral retinal nonperfusion have a worse outcome than those with mild nonperfusion.
Methods :
23 DME patients and 21 age-matched controls underwent a series of functional vision tests (visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, visual fields) and 200-degree ultra-wide field fluorescein angiography. DME patients were split into those with mild non-perfusion (<25%) and extensive non-perfusion (>50%) based on areas of hypofluorescence on the fluorescein angiogram. Statistical analyses were computed using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) for each functional test between study groups.
Results :
The extensive non-perfusion group had worse visual acuity, frequency doubling perimetry, microperimetry, contrast sensitivity, and Octopus static and kinetic performance than the mild non-perfusion group and healthy controls (table 1).
Conclusions :
The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the severity of midperipheral non-perfusion is associated with worse visual function in eyes with DME. A better understanding of the role of the mid-periphery in the pathogenesis of DME may improve visual outcomes and lead to more patient specific therapies.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.