1
|
Chua J, Wong D, Yow AP, Tan B, Liu X, Ismail MB, Chin CWL, Lamoureux E, Husain R, Schmetterer L. Segregation of neuronal and vascular retinal damage in patients with hypertension and diabetes. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2024; 1531:49-59. [PMID: 38084081 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.15089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
This study aimed to examine the impact of diabetes and hypertension on retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness components. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) measurements do not consider blood vessel contribution, which this study addressed. We hypothesized that diabetes and/or hypertension would lead to thinner RNFL versus controls due to the vascular component. OCT angiography was used to measure the RNFL in 121 controls, 50 diabetes patients, 371 hypertension patients, and 177 diabetes patients with hypertension. A novel technique separated the RNFL thickness into original (vascular component) and corrected (no vascular component) measurements. Diabetes-only (98 ± 1.7 µm; p = 0.002) and diabetes with hypertension (99 ± 0.8 µm; p = 0.001) patients had thinner original RNFL versus controls (102 ± 0.8 µm). No difference was seen between hypertension-only patients (101 ± 0.5 µm; p = 0.083) and controls. After removing the blood vessel component, diabetes/hypertension groups had thinner corrected RNFL versus controls (p = 0.024). Discrepancies in diabetes/hypertension patients were due to thicker retinal blood vessels within the RNFL thickness (p = 0.002). Our findings suggest that diabetes and/or hypertension independently contribute to neurodegenerative thinning of the RNFL, even in the absence of retinopathy. The differentiation of neuronal and vascular components in RNFL thickness measurements provided by the novel technique highlights the importance of considering vascular changes in individuals with these conditions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline Chua
- Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore, Singapore
- Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Academic Clinical Program, Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Damon Wong
- Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore, Singapore
- SERI-NTU Advanced Ocular Engineering (STANCE), Singapore, Singapore
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Ai Ping Yow
- Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore, Singapore
- SERI-NTU Advanced Ocular Engineering (STANCE), Singapore, Singapore
- School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
- Institute for Digital Molecular Analytics and Science (IDMxS), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Bingyao Tan
- Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore, Singapore
- SERI-NTU Advanced Ocular Engineering (STANCE), Singapore, Singapore
- School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Xinyu Liu
- Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore, Singapore
- Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Academic Clinical Program, Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- SERI-NTU Advanced Ocular Engineering (STANCE), Singapore, Singapore
| | - Munirah Binte Ismail
- Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore, Singapore
- SERI-NTU Advanced Ocular Engineering (STANCE), Singapore, Singapore
- School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Calvin Woon Loong Chin
- Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Academic Clinical Program, Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- National Heart Research Institute Singapore, National Heart Centre Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Ecosse Lamoureux
- Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore, Singapore
- Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Academic Clinical Program, Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Rahat Husain
- Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore, Singapore
- Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Academic Clinical Program, Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Leopold Schmetterer
- Singapore Eye Research Institute, Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore, Singapore
- Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Academic Clinical Program, Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- SERI-NTU Advanced Ocular Engineering (STANCE), Singapore, Singapore
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology, Basel, Switzerland
- School of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| |
Collapse
|