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Associations between local retinal thickness and function in early diabetes.
Kavita P Dhamdhere1, Marcus A Bearse, Wendy Harrison
1University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720-2020, USA. drkpd@berkeley.edu
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science
|August 9, 2012
Summary
Local retinal function and thickness are not associated in diabetic patients without retinopathy. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) measurements do not predict multifocal electroretinography (mfERG) findings in early diabetes. Type 2 diabetes shows worse neuroretinal function.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Diabetic Retinopathy Research
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Diabetes mellitus can affect retinal neuroretinal function and structure.
- Early detection of functional and structural changes is crucial for managing diabetic eye disease.
- Multifocal electroretinography (mfERG) assesses local retinal function, while optical coherence tomography (OCT) measures retinal thickness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate spatial associations between local neuroretinal function (mfERG) and local retinal thickness (OCT) in patients with diabetes but no retinopathy.
- To determine if OCT measurements can serve as a surrogate for mfERG in early diabetes.
Main Methods:
- mfERG and OCT were used to assess 45 patients with diabetes (Type 1 and Type 2) and 29 controls.
- Local mfERG (N1-P1 amplitude and P1 implicit time) and OCT retinal thickness were compared within spatially corresponding areas.
- Abnormalities were defined statistically, and group differences were analyzed using t-tests.
Main Results:
- No significant local associations were found between retinal thickness and mfERG measures in any group, even in abnormal retinal locations.
- Patients with Type 2 diabetes exhibited reduced mfERG amplitude and prolonged implicit time compared to controls and Type 1 diabetes patients.
- While most measures showed greater abnormalities in diabetic groups, Type 1 diabetes patients did not show significant retinal thinning compared to controls.
Conclusions:
- Local retinal thickness measured by OCT is not a reliable surrogate for local neuroretinal function assessed by mfERG in diabetic patients without retinopathy.
- Neuroretinal function is significantly impaired in Type 2 diabetes compared to Type 1 diabetes and healthy controls.
- The study highlights a dissociation between structure and function in early diabetic retinopathy.
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