Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 28, 2026
Tear-Derived Exosomal miR-15a as New Diagnostic Tool for Diabetic Retinopathy
Published on: December 30, 2025
INFLAMMATORY AND IMAGING BIOMARKERS IN TREATMENT-NAÏVE DIABETIC MACULAR EDEMA: Comparison with Irvine-Gass and
Sibel Demirel1, Özge Yanık1, Figen Batıoğlu1
1Department of Ophthalmology, Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
Purpose:
To determine whether aqueous flare reflects intraocular inflammation in treatment-naïve diabetic macular edema (DME) and to examine associations between aqueous cytokines and optical coherence tomography (OCT) biomarkers, using Irvine-Gass syndrome (IGS) and cataract eyes as controls.
Methods:
Seventy-six eyes were included (40 DME, 19 IGS, 17 cataract controls). All eyes underwent OCT imaging and laser flare photometry. Aqueous levels of interleukin-6, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, interferon-γ-inducible protein-10, and vascular endothelial growth factor were measured. OCT biomarkers included hyperreflective foci, ellipsoid zone disruption, and subretinal fluid.
Results:
Interleukin-6 levels differed among groups ( P = 0.015), being higher in IGS than controls, while monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 showed a borderline difference ( P = 0.054) with higher levels in IGS versus DME ( P = 0.008). Interferon-γ-inducible protein-10 did not differ among groups, and vascular endothelial growth factor levels were similar between IGS and DME ( P = 0.659). Flare values were higher in IGS than controls ( P = 0.039) but did not differ between DME and controls. Compared with IGS, DME eyes more frequently exhibited hyperreflective foci and ellipsoid zone disruption (all P <0.05). In DME, hyperreflective foci count correlated with interferon-γ-inducible protein-10 on univariate analysis (r = 0.33, P < 0.05), but this association did not remain significant after multivariate adjustment ( P = 0.075).
Conclusion:
In treatment-naïve DME eyes, inflammatory profiles likely reflect an early disease state and may differ from those observed in chronic or previously treated DME. hyperreflective foci may represent an OCT phenotype related to inflammatory signaling, although an independent association with interferon-γ-inducible protein-10 was not confirmed, with potential relevance for future studies. Keywords: aqueous flare, biomarkers, cytokines, diabetic macular edema, inflammation, Irvine-Gass, imaging, optical coherence tomography.
