title: OCULAR WAVEFRONT ABERRATIONS AND OPTICAL QUALITY IN DIABETIC MACULAR EDEMA.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate optical quality and internal aberrations in patients with diabetic macular edema.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this prospective study, 33 eyes of patients with diabetic macular edema were scanned with a ray-tracing wavefront device. As a control group, wavefront aberrometry was performed in 31 patients. Ocular and internal aberrations and visual quality metrics were evaluated separately to determine whether the source of aberrations was ocular or internal. Main outcome measures included corrected visual acuities, ocular and internal aberrations, Strehl ratio, and modulation transfer function.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a statistically significant difference between the groups in internal higher order (HO) root mean square (0.34 ± 0.24 vs. 0.16 ± 0.05), HO Strehl ratio (0.08 ± 0.05 vs. 0.18 ± 0.09), and modulation transfer function (0.29 ± 0.1 vs. 0.4 ± 0.1). There was no statistically significant difference in Strehl ratio and HO root mean square between phakic and pseudophakic patients. Height of cystoid spaces was a significant predictor (P < 0.001) of Strehl ratio. Besides inner and outer segment integrity, HO Strehl ratio significantly determined best-corrected visual acuity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In eyes with macular edema, internal HO wavefront aberrations were greater than in control eyes. This increase in HO wavefront error seems visually relevant. This study results suggest increased intraretinal edema as the source of HO aberrations.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Ophthalmology, Hospital Hietzing, Vienna, Austria; †Karl Landsteiner Institute of Process Optimization and QM in Cataract Surgery, Vienna, Austria; and ‡Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
authors.forename: Kata
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miháltz
authors.forename: Illés
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kovács
authors.forename: Birgit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Weingessel
authors.forename: Pia Veronika
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Vecsei-Marlovits
mesh_terms: D057128:Aberrometry; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019781:Corneal Topography; D057108:Corneal Wavefront Aberration / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008269:Macular Edema / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012160:Retina / Q000503:physiopathology; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*