OPHTHALMOLOGICA Vol 235 Issue 3 featuring retinal changes in diabetic patients

The results of a new study indicate that type 1 diabetic patients without clinically diagnosed diabetic retinopathy have degenerative changes in the inner retinal layers that are not evident in the eyes of healthy non-diabetic individuals. In the study, spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) showed that whole retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL), the superior and inferior quadrants, and the superior half of the peripapillary RNFL were significantly thinner in 90 type 1 diabetic patients than they were in 90 healthy controls. The degree of RNFL thinness compared to controls correlated significantly with the duration of the diabetes and the level of HbA1c (p<0.05). FC Gundogan et al, “Early Neurodegeneration of the Inner Retinal Layers in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus”, Ophthalmologica 2016; Volume 235, Issue 3.

RANIBIZUMAB EFFECTIVE FOR DME WHERE BEVACIZUMAB FAILS

Intravitreal treatment with ranibizumab can be effective in eyes with diabetic macular oedema (DME) that have failed to respond to bevacizumab, according to the findings of a retrospective study. The study involved 26 eyes of 22 patients with a mean age of 66 years. They had received a mean of 7.3 intravitreal injections of bevacizumab prior to switching to ranibizumab. After three ranibizumab injections, 57 per cent of eyes showed improvement in visual acuity. The visual improvement reached statistical significance (p=0.044) in those eyes where the pretreatment acuity for the second-line therapy was less than 20/40. In addition, central macular thickness decreased from 435.95µm to 373.69µm (p=0.01). R Ehrlich et al, “The Effectiveness of Intravitreal Ranibizumab in Patients with Diabetic Macular Edema Who Have Failed to Respond to Intravitreal Bevacizumab”, Ophthalmologica 2016; Volume 235, Issue 3.

LESS MYOPIC SHIFT WITH RED LASERS IN ROP

In retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) patients, therapy with red lasers seems to cause less myopic shift than does therapy with diode lasers, according to the findings of a randomised double-masked clinical trial. The study involved 150 eyes of 75 infants with a mean gestational age of 28.6 weeks. Seventy-four eyes received diode laser and 76 received red laser therapy. Following treatment, refraction shifted by a mean of 2.6 dioptres overall, and the amount of shift was significantly greater in the diode group (p<0.001). R Roohipoor et al, "Comparison of Refractive Error Changes in Retinopathy of Prematurity Patients Treated with Diode and Red Lasers", Ophthalmologica 2016; Volume 235, Issue 3.