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Functional retinal abnormalities may help predict diabetic retinopathy

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Localized functional abnormalities of the retina often precede the onset of new structural signs of diabetic retinopathy, according to a clinical study.

Ying Han and colleagues at the University of California at Berkeley performed the study to examine the potential of abnormal multifocal electroretinography (mfERG) to predict the development of diabetic retinopathy at corresponding locations. They performed mfERG and took fundus photographs in one eye each of 11 patients with diabetes with nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (DR) and 11 diabetic patients without retinopathy. The tests were repeated 12 months after initial testing.

The relative risk of development of new retinopathy over 1 year in the areas with abnormal baseline mfERG implicit times was about 21 times greater than in areas with normal baseline mfERG. Eyes without initial retinopathy did not develop the disease within the study period, although four of the 11 eyes had abnormal implicit times at baseline.

The study is published in the March issue of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.