Short-wavelength automated perimetry and capillary density in early diabetic maculopathy.
OBJECTIVE
To correlate short-wavelength cone-mediated sensitivity (SWS) assessed by blue-on-yellow perimetry with alterations of the perifoveal vascular bed in early diabetic maculopathy.


METHODS
Thirty-one patients (21 M, 10 F; mean age, 35 +/- 12 years; no lens opacities) with no clinically significant macular edema were included in this study. All patients underwent short-wavelength automated perimetry (SWAP) and conventional white-on-white perimetry (Humphrey, 10-2). In digitized video fluorescein angiograms (Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope), the size of the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) and the mean perifoveal intercapillary area (PIA) as a measure of capillary density were quantified interactively.


RESULTS
Mean thresholds of SWAP were significantly correlated with increasing size of FAZ (r = -0.51, P = 0.003) and PIA (r = -0.47, P = 0.01), whereas visual acuity expressed by log MAR (FAZ: r = 0.15, P = 0.41; PIA: r = 0.06, P = 0.76) and mean thresholds assessed with white-on-white perimetry (FAZ: r = -0.25, P = 0.20; PIA: r = -0.31, P = 0.14) were unrelated to diabetic changes of the perifoveal capillary network.


CONCLUSIONS
The alterations of the perifoveal network are related to selective disturbances of visual function as measured by blue-on-yellow-perimetry. SWAP may act as an early detector of visual function loss in early diabetic maculopathy and serve as a helpful technique to predict early ischemic damage of the macula and to monitor therapy.
Remky
A
A
Department of Ophthalmology, Medical School of the Technical University of Aachen, Germany. andreas.remky@rwth-aachen.de
Arend
O
O
Hendricks
S
S
D000328:Adult; D002196:Capillaries / Q000473:pathology; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D006801:Humans; D008269:Macular Edema / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D012171:Retinal Vessels / Q000473:pathology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014792:Visual Acuity; D058609:Visual Field Tests / Q000379:methods*; D014794:Visual Fields