Relationship of corneal endothelial morphology to diabetic retinopathy, duration of diabetes and glycemic control.

Using specular microscopy and computer-assisted morphometry, the morphologic features of the corneal endothelium were evaluated in three groups of patients with type II diabetes mellitus: 20 patients without diabetic retinopathy, 24 with background retinopathy, and 26 with proliferative retinopathy. When compared to age-matched nondiabetic controls (30 patients), all diabetic groups had similar endothelial cell densities but demonstrated significant increases in cell size and shape variability (pleomorphism). However, there was no significant difference in the degree of these endothelial changes among the three diabetic groups. Moreover, none of the endothelial morphologic parameters was found to correlate with the duration of diabetes or glycemic control, as estimated from glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1) concentrations.