Abstract
Background Patients with prediabetes are at risk for diabetes, cardiovascular events, and microvascular complications. The rtx1 (Imagine Eyes, France) permits early detection of changes in the retinal photoreceptors and vessels. Objective Cone parameters and retinal microvasculature were analyzed with the rtx1 in 12 prediabetic patients and 22 healthy subjects. The analysis was based on cone density (DM), interphotoreceptor distance (SM), cone packing regularity, and retinal vessel parameters: wall thickness, lumen diameter (LD), wall-to-lumen ratio (WLR), and cross-sectional area of the vascular wall. Results DM in the prediabetic group was not significantly lower than that in the control group (18,935 ± 1713 cells/mm2 and 19,900 ± 2375 cells/mm2, respectively; p = 0.0928). The LD and WLR means differed significantly between the prediabetic and the control groups (LD 94.3 ± 10.9 versus 101.2 ± 15, p = 0.022; WLR 0.29 ± 0.05 versus 0.22 ± 0.03, p < 0.05). A multivariate regression analysis showed that the WLR was significantly correlated with BMI and total cholesterol. Conclusions Abnormalities found in rtx1 examinations indicated early signs of arteriolar dysfunction, prior to impaired glucose tolerance progressing to diabetes. The rtx1 retinal image analysis offers noninvasive measurement of early changes in the vasculature that routine clinical examination cannot detect.
Highlights
IntroductionA complication associated with diabetes mellitus is diabetic retinopathy (DR), a chronic, progressive, and sightthreatening disease of the retinal microvasculature and neuronal cells [2, 3]
Diabetes is a chronic disease of great medical and socioeconomic consideration
Abnormalities found in rtx1 examinations indicated early signs of arteriolar dysfunction, prior to impaired glucose tolerance progressing to diabetes
Summary
A complication associated with diabetes mellitus is diabetic retinopathy (DR), a chronic, progressive, and sightthreatening disease of the retinal microvasculature and neuronal cells [2, 3]. Neural degenerative changes in the retina that are associated with diabetes involve apoptosis of several populations of retinal cells, including retinal ganglion cells, which are especially sensitive to hypoxia, as well as photoreceptors and bipolar cells [3]. The defect in the retinal glial cells in turn contributes to the early changes in the photoreceptors and retinal microvasculature because support for neuronal and vascular homeostasis deteriorates [6, 7]. Abnormalities found in rtx examinations indicated early signs of arteriolar dysfunction, prior to impaired glucose tolerance progressing to diabetes. The rtx retinal image analysis offers noninvasive measurement of early changes in the vasculature that routine clinical examination cannot detect
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