Open Funding

Institution:

Imperial College London

Recipient:

Dr Stephen Aldington

Project:

Diabetic retinopathy

Summary:

Diabetic retinopathy remains the most common cause of blindness in the UK in the working age population. The most common reason for loss of sight as a result of diabetic retinopathy is the development of macular oedema. Macular oedema is the swelling or water-logging of the macular area of the eye (the macula is a small circular area of the retina that provides our central detailed vision) caused by an accumulation of abnormal fluid in and around the macula and associated fat (lipid) deposits called hard exudates.
In this small study the researchers intend to use photographs of the retina from a completed study called the UKPDS to investigate whether patients who have these hard exudates located physically above the centre of the macula (a point called the fovea) are more likely to eventually suffer from loss of sight than those in whom the hard exudates are located only below or to the side of the fovea.
The researchers believe that it is the effect of gravity on the hard exudates and abnormal fluid located directly above the fovea that is responsible for seriously affecting central vision. Patients who have hard exudates only below or to the side of the fovea are thought to be less likely to suffer from future loss of central sight, as the effect of gravity in these cases would tend to draw the fluid and hard exudates away from the fovea. These patients therefore may not require invasive laser treatment.
If the study is shown to be correct in its assumptions it will provide an extremely useful tool in the screening of patients with diabetes for retinopathy in terms of likely outcome and treatment needed.

Amount:

£21,252