title: Viewing the choroid: where we stand, challenges and contradictions in diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular oedema.
abstract: Diabetic macular oedema (DMO) is the leading cause of vision loss in the working-age population. Blood-retinal barrier (BRB) dysfunction in diabetic retinopathy (DR), mainly at the level of the retinal vessels, has long been related with leakage and fluid accumulation, leading to macular oedema. However, the nourishment of the macula is provided by the choroid and a diabetic choroidopathy has been described. Therefore, there has been a growing interest in studying the role of the choroid in the pathophysiology of DR and DMO, mainly by optical coherence tomography (OCT). Nevertheless, there are conflicting results in the different studies. We summarize the results from the available studies, describe the limitations and confounding factors and discuss future procedures to avoid bias.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences (IBILI), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.|CNC.IBILI, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.|Department of Ophthalmology, Leiria Hospital, Leiria, Portugal.
authors.forename: António
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences (IBILI), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.|CNC.IBILI, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: Elisa J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences (IBILI), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.|CNC.IBILI, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: João
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences (IBILI), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.|CNC.IBILI, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.|Association for Innovation and Biomedical Research on Light and Image (AIBILI), Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: António Francisco
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Ambrósio
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Life Sciences (IBILI), University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.|CNC.IBILI, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.|Association for Innovation and Biomedical Research on Light and Image (AIBILI), Coimbra, Portugal.|Ophthalmology Department, Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Coimbra (CHUC), Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: Rufino
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Silva
mesh_terms: D001813:Blood-Retinal Barrier; D002829:Choroid; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D005654:Fundus Oculi; D006801:Humans; D008269:Macular Edema / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000379:methods*
keywords: choroidal thickness; diabetic macular oedema; diabetic retinopathy; optical coherence tomography; subfoveal choroidal thickness