Speckle Contrast as Retinal Tissue Integrity Biomarker in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus with No Retinopathy

Elvira Orduna-Hospital; Maria Arcas-Carbonell; Ana Sanchez-Cano; Isabel Pinilla; Alejandra Consejo

doi:10.3390/jpm12111807

Speckle Contrast as Retinal Tissue Integrity Biomarker in Patients with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus with No Retinopathy

J Pers Med. 2022 Nov 1;12(11):1807. doi: 10.3390/jpm12111807.

Authors

Elvira Orduna-Hospital^{1

2}, Maria Arcas-Carbonell¹, Ana Sanchez-Cano^{1

2}, Isabel Pinilla^{2

3

4}, Alejandra Consejo¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Applied Physics, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain.
² Aragon Institute for Health Research (IIS Aragon), 50009 Zaragoza, Spain.
³ Department of Ophthalmology, Lozano Blesa University Hospital, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain.
⁴ Department of Surgery, University of Zaragoza, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain.

Abstract

Purpose: To study the retinal and choroidal layers in type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1) without diabetic retinopathy (DR), using speckle contrast of optical coherence tomography (OCT) images as a tissue biomarker in comparison with healthy subjects.

Methods: OCT Spectralis images of 148 eyes, 84 from DM1 patients without DR signs, and 64 belonging to the control group, were collected. The speckle contrast and thickness of the inner retinal layer (IRL), the outer retinal layer (ORL), and the choroidal layer in the nasal parafoveal area (N3), were prospectively analyzed.

Results: A statistically significant difference (p = 0.001) in the IRL thickness between groups was observed, being thicker in the DM1 group. There were no differences in the ORL and choroidal thicknesses between groups. A statistically significant difference (p = 0.02) in the IRL speckle contrast was obtained, being lower in the DM1 group. The maximum speckle contrast was reached in the ORL for both groups, although in the DM1 group, it occurs closer to the choroid, at 64 ± 8 μm (p = 0.008).

Conclusions: Statistically significant differences were found in speckle contrast and thickness between the control and the DM1 group, suggesting an IRL alteration of DM1 patients, supporting the retinal neurodegeneration before DR signs are observed.

Keywords: choroid; inner retinal layer; optical coherence tomography; retina; speckle contrast; type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Grants and funding

Publication of this article was supported by the General Council of Aragon (Diputación General de Aragón) Group B08_20R, the Health Research Fund Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria, Spanish Ministry of Health) PI20/00740; and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) funds: “Una manera de hacer Europa”.