Retinal fiber layer measured by oct in patients with type I diabetes without retinopathy

Purpose To evaluate the changes in the peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness measured with optical coherence tomography (OCT) in patients with type I diabetes without retinopathy. Methods Comparative cross-sectional study. Thirty eyes of 30 healthy subjects and 30 eyes of 30 patients with type I diabetes mellitus were studied. Ophthalmic examination of diabetic patients showed no retinopathy. One eye per patient was randomly selected for the study. All patients were examined by means of OCT. Results The control group was formed by 9 women, 21 men, aged 18-38 yr (mean ± SD 28.7 ± 6.01). Diabetic patients were 9 women and 21 men, aged 25.02 yr (± 8.1). Mean period from the onset of diabetes was 14.2 years (SD 5.46). None of the diabetic group had changes at the fundus examination. The RNFL average thickness was 106.1 and 101.8 in the control and in the diabetic group respectively. A significant difference was found in the superior quadrant thickness where the measures were 136 vs 127 respectively (p=0.05). Conclusion Our results suggest that RNFL changes assessed by OCT can be detected early in the course of type I diabetes.