TY - JOUR
TI - Follow-up of the retinal nerve fiber layer thickness of diabetic patients type 2, as a predisposing factor for glaucoma compared to normal subjects
AU - Takis, A.
AU - Alonistiotis, D.
AU - Ioannou, N.
AU - Kontou, E.
AU - Mitsopoulou, M.
AU - Papaconstantinou, D.
JO - Clinical Ophthalmology (Auckland, NZ)
PY - 2017
VL - 11
TODO - null
SP - 1135-1141
PB - Dove Medical Press Ltd
SN - null
TODO - 10.2147/OPTH.S129935
TODO - hemoglobin A1c, adult;  aged;  Article;  best corrected visual acuity;  controlled study;  diabetic patient;  diabetic retinopathy;  diagnostic imaging;  disease duration;  disease predisposition;  disease severity;  eye examination;  female;  glaucoma;  glycemic control;  human;  intraocular pressure;  laser coagulation;  macular edema;  major clinical study;  male;  non insulin dependent diabetes mellitus;  non invasive procedure;  observational study;  open angle glaucoma;  optic nerve disease;  optical coherence tomography;  prevalence;  prospective study;  retinal nerve fiber layer thickness;  risk factor;  scanning laser polarimetry;  very elderly
TODO - Purpose: To evaluate and follow-up the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 compared to a group of healthy individuals with similar demographic characteristics. Patients and methods: This is a prospective, noninvasive, observational case series study. For the purposes of the study, 27 eyes of diabetic patients without diabetic retinopathy, 24 eyes of patients with mild retinopathy, and 25 normal age-matched subjects (control group [CG]) were examined. All participants underwent complete ophthalmological examination and imaging with GDx variable corneal compensation scanning laser polarimetry. Follow-up was 2 years for all three groups. Results: The mean inferior average was statistically significantly lower in both diabetic groups compared to CG at baseline examination and during follow-up. The nerve fiber indicator (NFI) was higher in both diabetic groups compared to CG, both at baseline examination and during follow-up. The NFI was 21.7±11.9 and 22.0±11.8 for the diabetic group without retinopathy, 20.8±9.6 and 21.9±9.8 for the group with mild retinopathy, and 15.3±5.4 and 15.9±5.5 for the normal subjects, at baseline and 24 months, respectively. There was no statistically significant reduction of the RNFL thickness in all three groups compared to baseline examination. Conclusion: This is the first long-term study documenting the RNFL thickness in diabetic patients in comparison with normal controls. Although the lower RNFL was found thinner in diabetics, the 2-year follow-up showed no significant reduction of RNFL thickness in all groups, indicating that RNFL damage may occur early in diabetic patients. © 2017 Takis et al.
ER -