Fundus pulsation measurements in diabetic retinopathy

Leopold Schmetterer*, Alex Salomon, Alexander Rheinberger, Christian Unfried, Franz Lexer, Michael Wolzt

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: There is experimental evidence that retinal blood flow is impaired in patients with diabetes mellitus. Much less attention has been paid to choroidal blood flow. Hence it was the aim of the present study to investigate choroidal blood flow in diabetic retinopathy. Methods: A new noninvasive laser interferometric technique was used to measure fundus pulsations in the macula. The fundus pulsation amplitude, which is the maximum distance change between cornea and retina during the cardiac cycle, is a measure of local pulsatile blood flow. The eyes (n = 214) were divided into four groups according to the modified Airlie House classification: (1) no retinopathy (control group), (2) background retinopathy, (3) moderate to severe preproliferative retinopathy, (4) proliferative retinopathy. In 83 eyes of different groups fundus pulsation measurements were repeated after 1-6 weeks. Results: Fundus pulsation amplitudes were significantly smaller in group 4 than in the control group (P < 0.027). The reproducibility of the measurements was high and did not differ among the study groups. Conclusions: Local fundus pulsations in the macula are reduced in proliferative diabetic retinopathy, which is compatible with previous findings of reduced choroidal blood flow in late stages of the disease. Laser interferometric measurement of fundus pulsations is non-contactile, assures optimal comfort for the patient and could be used for the long-term observation of patients with diabetes mellitus.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)283-287
Number of pages5
JournalGraefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology
Volume235
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1997
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Ophthalmology
  • Sensory Systems
  • Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Fundus pulsation measurements in diabetic retinopathy'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this