A new study found screening diabetes patients with optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) could uncover early microvascular changes that may help clinicians intervene sooner to avoid the development of diabetic retinopathy (DR).¹

Researchers at the Vanderbilt Eye Institute studied 37 eyes of 20 patients with diabetes, none of whom showed signs of DR upon clinical and dilated exam by a retina specialist. Subjects had a mean glycated hemoglobin A1c of 7.2%. After assessing vessel density, flow area and foveal avascular zone size with OCT-A, the researchers discovered 15 eyes had vascular abnormalities, or microaneurysms, and they all had significantly increased vessel density compared with eyes without microaneurysms.¹

“OCTA can detect diabetic retinopathy earlier than ever before through detection of microvascular changes which are not otherwise noted on dilated clinical examination,” said Raza M. Shah, MD, in a Practice Update statement. “These preclinical findings may facilitate earlier interventions for improved glycemic control and change the ‘gold standard’ in diabetic eye examination.”²

1. Thompson IA, Durrani AK, Patel S. Optical coherence tomography angiography characteristics in diabetic patients without clinical diabetic retinopathy. Eye (Lond). December 3, 2018. [Epub ahead of print]. 2. OCTA characteristics in diabetic patients without clinical diabetic retinopathy. PracticeUpdate. January 7, 2018.