Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 7, 2026
04:36
An Assay to Detect Protection of the Retinal Vasculature from Diabetes-Related Death in Mice
Published on: January 12, 2024
Choroidal changes and duration of diabetes
Fatma Yülek1, Nagihan Uğurlu, Eda Demir Önal
1Department of Ophthalmology and.
Seminars in Ophthalmology
|October 1, 2013
Summary
Diabetic patients without retinopathy showed decreased foveal retinal thickness with longer diabetes duration. Macular choroidal thickness was not significantly affected by diabetes duration but showed a weak correlation with serum creatinine.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Diabetology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of vision loss.
- Macular choroidal thickness is a potential indicator of ocular health in diabetes.
- Early detection of diabetes-related changes is crucial for preventing complications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate changes in macular choroidal thickness in type-2 diabetic patients without retinopathy.
- To assess the relationship between diabetes duration and choroidal thickness.
- To explore potential correlations between choroidal thickness and serum creatinine levels.
Main Methods:
- Prospective imaging of 134 type-2 diabetic patients without retinopathy using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI OCT).
- Classification of patients into three groups based on diabetes duration (5-9, 10-14, and 15-40 years).
- Evaluation of retinal and choroidal thickness at the central fovea and intervals up to 1500 µm temporally and nasally.
Main Results:
- Central foveal retinal thickness significantly decreased with longer diabetes duration (p=0.04).
- No significant differences in choroidal thickness were observed between groups at any measured distance.
- Diabetes duration showed no statistically significant correlation with choroidal thickness.
- A weak negative correlation was found between central foveal choroidal thickness and serum creatinine (r=-0.18, p=0.03).
Conclusions:
- Longer diabetes duration is associated with decreased foveal retinal thickness in patients without retinopathy.
- Diabetes duration does not appear to significantly impact macular choroidal thickness.
- The weak correlation between creatinine and choroidal thickness warrants further investigation.
- Choroidal thickness changes could potentially serve as an early, noninvasive marker for diabetic nephropathy.
Related Concept Videos
01:27Diabetic Retinopathy
DefinitionDiabetic retinopathy is a microvascular complication of diabetes affecting the retinal blood vessels.Risk FactorsDiabetic retinopathy is present in almost all individuals with type 1 diabetes and more than 60% of those with type 2 diabetes after two decades of disease.The risk increases with poor glycemic control, hypertension, dyslipidemia, smoking, pregnancy, and puberty.Although cataracts and glaucoma are also more frequent in people with diabetes, retinopathy remains the leading...
01:25Type II Diabetes Mellitus III: Clinical Manifestations and Diagnosis
Type 2 diabetes mellitus develops gradually and is often asymptomatic in early stages.Clinical ManifestationsWhen symptoms appear, they include fatigue, blurred vision, pruritus, delayed wound healing, and recurrent infections, particularly candidal infections. Peripheral neuropathy may present as numbness or tingling in the extremities. Classic hyperglycemia symptoms—polyuria, polydipsia, and polyphagia—are less common. Most patients are overweight and frequently have associated hypertension...
01:22Diabetes Mellitus: Type 2 and Gestational
Type 2 diabetes, characterized by insulin resistance, arises when the insulin receptors on cells lose responsiveness to insulin, diminishing the cell's capacity to take up glucose, resulting in elevated blood glucose levels. To receive a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes, a series of blood glucose tests are necessary to assess whether the blood glucose falls within normal parameters. If the result is out of the normal range, a patient may be diagnosed as prediabetic or diabetic, depending on the...
01:28Diabetic Nephropathy
Definition Diabetic nephropathy is a chronic kidney complication that results from prolonged hyperglycemia.Prevalence It is the most common cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) worldwide, affecting up to half of individuals with diabetes.Pathophysiology • Sustained hyperglycemia triggers multiple hemodynamic and metabolic changes in the kidney. • Early in the disease, increased renal blood flow and glomerular hyperfiltration occur due to afferent arteriolar...
01:22Complications of Diabetes Mellitus
Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by persistent hyperglycemia due to insulin deficiency, resistance, or both. Prolonged hyperglycemia disrupts metabolic homeostasis and leads to acute and chronic complications.Acute ComplicationsAcute complications result from sudden metabolic imbalance.Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) mainly appears in type 1 diabetes but may also develop in type 2 diabetes, particularly under extreme stress. It arises from severe insulin deficiency,...
01:19Type I Diabetes III: Clinical Manifestations
Type 1 diabetes mellitus typically presents with rapid-onset symptoms due to the body’s inability to utilize glucose in the absence of insulin. Since insulin is required for glucose uptake into cells, its deficiency leads to hyperglycemia and cellular energy deprivation, resulting in characteristic clinical features.Polyuria and PolydipsiaOne of the earliest, most prominent symptoms is polyuria (excessive urination). When blood glucose concentrations rise above the renal threshold, the kidneys...