Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Jan 28;51(2):224-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.visres.2010.08.024. Epub 2010 Aug 27.

Association of visual function and ganglion cell layer thickness in patients with diabetes mellitus type 1 and no or minimal diabetic retinopathy

Hille W van Dijk  1 , Frank D Verbraak, Marilette Stehouwer, Pauline H B Kok, Mona K Garvin, Milan Sonka, J Hans DeVries, Reinier O Schlingemann, Michael D Abràmoff
Affiliations

Association of visual function and ganglion cell layer thickness in patients with diabetes mellitus type 1 and no or minimal diabetic retinopathy

Hille W van Dijk et al. Vision Res. .

Abstract

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) classically presents with micro-aneurysms, small haemorrhages and/or lipoprotein exudates. Several studies have indicated that neural loss occurs in DR even before vascular damage can be observed. This study evaluated the possible relationship between structure (spectral domain-optical coherence tomography) and function (Rarebit visual field test) in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus and no or minimal diabetic retinopathy (DR). Results demonstrated loss of macular visual function and corresponding thinning of the ganglion cell layer (GCL) in the pericentral area of the macula of diabetic patients (Rs = 0.65, p < 0.001). In multivariable logistic regression analysis, GCL thickness remained an independent predictor of decreased visual function (OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.1-2.1). Early DR seems to include a neurodegenerative component.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The intraretinal surfaces in a macular B-scan as indicated by the colored lines and the corresponding retinal layers in figures. The retinal surfaces are segmented fully automatically using an inherently 3D approach. 1/ retinal nerve fiber layer, 2/ ganglion cell layer, 3/ inner plexiform layer, 4/ inner nuclear layer, 5/ outer plexiform layer, 6/ outer nuclear layer + inner segments, 7/ outer segments, 8/ retinal pigment epithelium.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Scatter-plot of pericentral GCL thickness versus MHR in type 1 diabetes patients
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study Research Group. Grading diabetic retinopathy from stereoscopic color fundus photographs--an extension of the modified Airlie House classification. ETDRS report number 10. Ophthalmology. 1991;98:786–806. - PubMed
    1. Abràmoff M, Magalhâes P, Ram S. Image Processing with ImageJ. Biophotonics. 2004;11:36–42.
    1. Abu-El-Asrar AM, Dralands L, Missotten L, Al-Jadaan IA, Geboes K. Expression of apoptosis markers in the retinas of human subjects with diabetes. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2004;45:2760–2766. - PubMed
    1. Antonetti DA, Barber AJ, Bronson SK, Freeman WM, Gardner TW, Jefferson LS, Kester M, Kimball SR, Krady JK, LaNoue KF, Norbury CC, Quinn PG, Sandirasegarane L, Simpson IA. Diabetic retinopathy: seeing beyond glucose-induced microvascular disease. Diabetes. 2006;55:2401–2411. - PubMed
    1. Asefzadeh B, Fisch BM, Parenteau CE, Cavallerano AA. Macular thickness and systemic markers for diabetes in individuals with no or mild diabetic retinopathy. Clin Experiment Ophthalmol. 2008;36:455–463. - PubMed

Publication types