Abstract

Purpose We determined whether Diabetes Mellitus (DM) affects the retinal Ganglion Cell-Inner Plexiform Layer (GCIPL) thickness in patients who have no Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) or Non-Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy (NPDR). Design Retrospective, comparative study. Methods Of 60 DM patients, 56 eyes with no DR (group 1) and 52 eyes with NPDR (group 2), and 104 eyes of 60 healthy subjects underwent the Ganglion Cell Analysis (GCA) using Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). GCA algorithm was used to measure the thickness of the overall avarage, minimum, superotemporal, superior, superonasal, inferonasal, inferior, inferotemporal GCIPL. Measurements of GCIPL thickness and central macular thickness of DM patients were compared with those of age and gender matched control group. Results The overall average, minimum, and the six sectors of GCIPL thickness measurements were significantly thinner in DM patients compared with healthy controls (p < 0.05), but there was no significant difference between groups 1 and 2 (p > 0.05). In terms of duration of diabetes and DR status, there was no statistically significant difference in GCIPL parameters while correcting for age and presence of hypertension between the groups. Conclusion This study demonstrates a significant GCIPL thinning at all segments of the macula in DM patients than in healthy controls. In contrast, there was no significant difference between group 1 and 2 in terms of GCIPL thickness. These results confirm that DM has a neurodegenerative effect on the retina before vascular changes occur.

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