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Purpose: The impact of peripheral retinal lesions (PL) visualized with ultra-wide-field imaging on diabetic retinopathy (DR) remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to assess the presence of PL and their association with macular microvasculopathy, metabolic dysfunction, and neurodegeneration in patients with Type II diabetes and early retinal disease., Methods: Forty-five degree color fundus (Topcon) and 200° ultra-wide-field images (Optos) were assessed for the presence and severity of DR. Lesions anterior to the 45° were considered peripheral. The foveal avascular zone area, perimeter and acircularity index, and foveal full-retina and parafoveal superficial/deep complex vessel density were evaluated with RTVue optical coherence tomography angiography. Vessel oxygen saturation was measured with oximetry. Peripapillary retinal nerve fiber and individual macular retinal layer thicknesses were measured with Spectralis optical coherence tomography., Results: Among the 161 eyes (80 left eyes) of 81 patients (34 female), 64 (39.8%) showed higher levels of DR on ultra-wide-field than on 45° fundus images (P < 0.0001). PL were identified in 97 eyes (60.3%) and in 59 among 115 eyes without central signs of DR. No significant correlation to biomarkers of central microvascular disease (foveal avascular zone/vessel density variables), oxygen saturation, and retinal layer thickness was found., Conclusion: Ultra-wide-field imaging helps to detect more eyes with early DR due to the detection of PL, which appear independently of biomarkers of macular microvascular impairment, metabolic function, and neuropathy in eyes without central signs of DR. These results suggest that the evaluation of the retinal periphery may become crucial in DR screening if PL are proven to influence disease outcomes.

Purpose: To characterize retinal microaneurysms (MAs) in patients with diabetes using adaptive optics optical coherence tomography (AOOCT) and compare details found in AOOCT with those found in commercially available retinal imaging techniques., Methods: Patients with diabetes and MA in the macular area were included in this pilot study. The area of interest, identified in standard fluorescein angiography, was imaged using an AO fundus camera and AOOCT. Microaneurysms were characterized in AOOCT (visibility, reflectivity, feeding/draining vessels, and intraretinal location) and compared with findings in AO fundus camera, OCT angiography, and fluorescein angiography., Results: Fifty-three MAs were imaged in 15 eyes of 10 patients. Feeding and/or draining vessels from both capillary plexus could be identified in 34 MAs in AOOCT images. Of 45 MAs imaged with OCT angiography, 18 (40%) were visible in the superior plexus, 12 (27%) in the deep capillary plexus, and 15 MAs (33%) could not be identified at all. Intraluminal hyperreflectivity, commonly seen in AO fundus camera, corresponded only in 8 of 27 cases (30%) to intraluminal densities seen in AOOCT., Conclusion: Adaptive optics OCT imaging revealed that MAs located in the inner nuclear layer were connected to the intermediate and/or deep capillary plexus. Intraluminal hyperreflectivity seen on AO fundus camera images originated from a strong reflection from the vessel wall and only in a third of the cases from intraluminal clots. Currently, AOOCT is the most expedient in vivo imaging method to capture morphologic details of retinal microvasculature in 3D and in the context of the surrounding retinal anatomy.

Purpose: Reduced thickness of the ganglion cell inner plexiform layer indicates diabetic neurodegeneration and can be assessed by spectral domain optical coherence tomography. The authors investigated the comparability of ganglion cell inner plexiform layer measurements from two spectral domain optical coherence tomography devices in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME)., Methods: Analysis of optical coherence tomography data sets of eyes with and fellow eyes without DME. Macular cube scans of sufficient signal strength on Cirrus (Carl Zeiss Meditec) were compared with correlating scans on Spectralis (Heidelberg Engineering, Germany) being acquired within 1 hour., Results: Eighty-one equivalent data sets for 20 eyes with DME (20 patients; 6 female) and 33 for 9 fellow eyes without DME (9 patients; 2 female) were included from each device. In DME eyes, mean ganglion cell inner plexiform layer thicknesses were 62.5 ± 20.4 μm on Cirrus and 91.2 ± 9.3 μm on Spectralis. Ganglion cell inner plexiform layer was significantly thicker on Spectralis analyzing eyes with and without signs of DME (P < 0.001). The ganglion cell inner plexiform layer variance (54.2%) related to device differences decreased to 34.8% in eyes without DME., Conclusion: Ganglion cell inner plexiform layer data from different devices vary considerably and cannot be used interchangeably. As spectral domain optical coherence tomography is indispensable for identifying ganglion cell loss associated with diabetic neurodegeneration, clinicians should be aware of the difference when monitoring patients.