Retinal Ganglion Cell Loss in Children With Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Without Diabetic Retinopathy.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Early diabetic retinal changes in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) without diabetic retinopathy (DR) were examined using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Sixty children with T1DM without DR and 60 normal children were enrolled in the study. SD-OCT was used to measure the ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GC-IPL) and retinal nerve fiber (RNFL) thicknesses in all participants.

RESULTS

The GC-IPL thickness was significantly decreased in all quadrants except the superior-nasal quadrant in children with diabetes (P < .05). However, the RNFL thickness in all quadrants was not significantly different between the groups (P > .05).

CONCLUSIONS

There was a decreased GC-IPL thickness in children with T1DM without DR, suggesting that T1DM has an early neurodegenerative effect on retinal ganglion cells that occurs when the vascular component of DR is absent. SD-OCT may be more useful than ophthalmoscopic evaluation for detecting the earlier retinal structural changes of diabetes. [Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2017;48:473-477.].