Objective To investigate the optic disc microcirculation and neuromechanism changes in diabetic mellitus (DM) patients with non-diabetic retinopathy (noDR) and DM patients with mild-moderate non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).
Methods Fifty-two DM patients with noDR (noDR group, 97 eyes) and 20 DM patients with mild-to-moderate NPDR (mild-to-moderate NPDR group, 30 eyes) were included as the study objects, while 30 healthy subjects (control group, 53 eyes) were selected. The optic disc area was scanned by OCTA instrument. Total vessel density (tVD), capillary vessel density (cVD) and thickness of peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (pRNFL) in the three groups were compared; the correlation between peripallary optic disc cVD and pRNFL thickness was analyzed.
Results The cVD of optic disc and peripallary optic disc in the noDR group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05). The pRNFL thickness was (117.98±10.60), (111.37±10.19) and (116.70±10.81) mm in the control group, noDR group and mild-to-moderate NPDR group, respectively. The pRNFL thickness was correlated with cVD of optic disc (P < 0.05).
Conclusion In the early clinical stage of DR, the microvascular and nerve structure in the optic disc area of DM patients have been damaged, and the nerve fiber layer damage is more significant than the microvascular damage. There may be a correlation between optic disc nerve and microvascular damage in DM patients.
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