title: Neurodegenerative differences in the retinas of male and female patients with type 2 diabetes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of our study is to determine whether neuroretinal function, measured by the multifocal electroretinogram, differs between males and females with type 2 diabetes and no retinopathy.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study included 70 eyes from 70 adult subjects (14 control males, 22 control females, 16 males with type 2 diabetes, and 18 females with type 2 diabetes). A template-scaling technique was used to obtain first-order P1 implicit times and N1-P1 amplitudes from photopic multifocal electroretinograms within the central 45 degrees.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The males with type 2 diabetes were significantly more abnormal than their female counterparts in two separate analyses of local neuroretinal function. First, the total number of retinal locations with an abnormally delayed implicit time (z score ≥ 2) was higher (P < 0.001) in the diabetic males (482 locations = 29.2%) compared to the diabetic females (298 locations = 16.1%). Second, in the response topographies that consisted of 103 means of local implicit times for each group, the diabetic males were significantly delayed (P < 0.025) at 23 corresponding positions (22.3%) compared to the diabetic females. At the same time, no corresponding stimulus locations were significantly delayed in the diabetic females compared to the diabetic males.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Neuroretinal function is more abnormal in males than in females for adults with type 2 diabetes and no retinopathy. These results suggest that, relative to males, females may have some protection from, or resistance to, neurodegenerative changes that precede the development of background retinopathy in type 2 diabetes.
authors.affiliation: Berkeley School of Optometry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA. glozawa@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Glen Y
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Ozawa
authors.forename: Marcus A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bearse
authors.forename: Kevin W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Bronson-Castain
authors.forename: Wendy W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.forename: Marilyn E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Schneck
authors.forename: Shirin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Barez
authors.forename: Anthony J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Adams
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000032:analysis; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004596:Electroretinography / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose