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Eyes with DME may show stable, central fixation and link between macular sensitivity, retinal thickness
Am J Ophthalmol. 2011;152(3):400-405.
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Most eyes with diabetic macular edema may display stable, central fixation, and their macular sensitivity may correlate with retinal thickness, according to a study.
The prospective, observational study used an automatic fundus perimetry/tomography system to evaluate 22 eyes of 11 patients with DME.
Twenty-one eyes demonstrated stable fixation, with more than 75% within the central 2° of point of fixation. Central fixation was observed in 68.2% of all eyes, with more than 50% of their fixation points within 0.5 mm of the fovea. The remaining eyes had pericentral (13.6%) and eccentric (18.2%) fixation location.
Patients with a retinal thickness of 280 µm or less at the fovea showed a 0.03 decibel increase in macular sensitivity per micron increase in thickness, on average. This suggested an association between retinal thinning and decreased sensitivity, the study authors said.
Conversely, sensitivity decreased by an average of 0.05 decibel/µm increase for those with greater than 280 µm thickness. The authors suggested a possible correlation between retinal edema and decreased sensitivity.
The study was limited by its small sample and a host of unadjusted model factors. No significant relationship was observed between macular sensitivity and best corrected visual acuity.