normal retina vs diabetic retinopathy optomap

It is sensitive to identify even mild changes in retinal morphology that are often not visible to the naked eye on clinical examination. It does not require a highly skilled person for its operation, or pharmacological dilation of the pupil. Its various advantages lie in the fact that it provides an objective, non-invasive, high resolution, reproducible, and cross-sectional image of the retina. OCT has rapidly grown to become a routine tool of investigation in ophthalmology. The advent of optical coherence tomography (OCT), has improved the understanding of DME. Though FA offers useful information, it is also a subjective test and retinal thickness or morphology cannot be assessed on FA. Ischemic areas and macular ischemia are also well identified on FA. This classification helps in guiding focal laser treatment to leaking microaneurysms or grid laser to the leaking capillaries. Fundus fluorescein angiography (FA) is an investigation modality that is used to classify DME into focal and diffuse based on the leakage pattern. Biomicroscopy does not provide information regarding the exact retinal layer involved. However, the use of slit-lamp biomicroscopy or color fundus photography for examining macular edema is subjective and may fail to detect mild changes in retinal thickness. The definition of clinically significant macular edema in diabetes was given by the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) where slit-lamp biomicroscopy or stereoscopic fundus photography was used to identify retinal thickening and hard exudates. In more advanced cases, capillary blockage and ischemia result in the formation of new blood vessels, resulting in proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in individuals of the working-age group. This leads to the accumulation of fluid within and beneath the layers of the retina, causing diabetic macular edema (DME).

The pathology of DR involves capillary endothelial cell proliferation, thickening of the basement membrane, and loss of pericytes, leading to the formation of microaneurysms, increase in vessel permeability, and the destruction of the blood-retinal barrier. Diabetic Retinopathy (DR), a microvascular complication, affects one-third of the population suffering from diabetes.

Long-term uncontrolled DM leads to both macrovascular and microvascular complications. According to the figures analyzed at the global level, diabetes is expected to affect 629 million people by 2045 in the age category of 20 to 79 years. It is principally classified into Type 1 DM and Type 2 DM, the former being defined by the absence of insulin secretion whereas resistance to insulin defines the latter. Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a disease characterized by elevated blood glucose levels due to its impaired metabolism.

Normal retina vs diabetic retinopathy optomap