Early Alterations of Corneal Subbasal Plexus in Uncomplicated Type 1 Diabetes Patients

Purpose. The purpose of our study is to describe the in vivo corneal confocal microscopy characteristics of subbasal nerve plexus in a highly selected population of patients affected by type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) without any microvascular diabetes complications. Methods. We included 19 T1DM pat...

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Main Authors: Domenico Schiano Lomoriello, Irene Abicca, Mariacristina Parravano, Daniela Giannini, Benedetta Russo, Simona Frontoni, Fabiana Picconi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2019-01-01
Series:Journal of Ophthalmology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/9818217
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author Domenico Schiano Lomoriello
Irene Abicca
Mariacristina Parravano
Daniela Giannini
Benedetta Russo
Simona Frontoni
Fabiana Picconi
author_facet Domenico Schiano Lomoriello
Irene Abicca
Mariacristina Parravano
Daniela Giannini
Benedetta Russo
Simona Frontoni
Fabiana Picconi
author_sort Domenico Schiano Lomoriello
collection DOAJ
description Purpose. The purpose of our study is to describe the in vivo corneal confocal microscopy characteristics of subbasal nerve plexus in a highly selected population of patients affected by type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) without any microvascular diabetes complications. Methods. We included 19 T1DM patients without diabetic peripheral neuropathy, diabetic autonomic neuropathy, diabetic retinopathy, and microalbuminuria. All patients underwent in vivo corneal confocal microscopy and blood analysis to determine subbasal nerve plexus parameters and their correlation with clinical data. We compared the results with 19 healthy controls. Results. The T1DM group showed a significant decrease of the nerve fiber length (P=0.032), the nerve fiber length density (P=0.034), the number of fibers (P=0.005), and the number of branchings (P=0.028), compared to healthy subjects. The nerve fiber length, nerve fiber length density, and number of fibers were directly related to the age at onset of diabetes and inversely to the duration of DM. BMI (body mass index) was highly related to the nerve fiber length (r = −0.6, P=0.007), to the nerve fiber length density (r = −0.6, P=0.007), and to the number of fibers (r = −0.587, P=0.008). No significant correlations were found between the corneal parameters and HbA1c. Conclusions. Early subclinical fiber corneal variation could be easily detected using in vivo corneal confocal microscopy, even in type 1 diabetes without any microvascular diabetes complications, including diabetic peripheral neuropathy, diabetic autonomic neuropathy, diabetic retinopathy, and microalbuminuria.
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spelling doaj-art-a5ccccc11a374a10887e285e8d4011032025-08-20T03:38:31ZengWileyJournal of Ophthalmology2090-004X2090-00582019-01-01201910.1155/2019/98182179818217Early Alterations of Corneal Subbasal Plexus in Uncomplicated Type 1 Diabetes PatientsDomenico Schiano Lomoriello0Irene Abicca1Mariacristina Parravano2Daniela Giannini3Benedetta Russo4Simona Frontoni5Fabiana Picconi6IRCCS–Fondazione Bietti, Rome, ItalyIRCCS–Fondazione Bietti, Rome, ItalyIRCCS–Fondazione Bietti, Rome, ItalyIRCCS–Fondazione Bietti, Rome, ItalyUnit of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, S. Giovanni Calibita Fatebenefratelli Hospital, Rome, ItalyUnit of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, S. Giovanni Calibita Fatebenefratelli Hospital, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, ItalyUnit of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, S. Giovanni Calibita Fatebenefratelli Hospital, Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, ItalyPurpose. The purpose of our study is to describe the in vivo corneal confocal microscopy characteristics of subbasal nerve plexus in a highly selected population of patients affected by type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) without any microvascular diabetes complications. Methods. We included 19 T1DM patients without diabetic peripheral neuropathy, diabetic autonomic neuropathy, diabetic retinopathy, and microalbuminuria. All patients underwent in vivo corneal confocal microscopy and blood analysis to determine subbasal nerve plexus parameters and their correlation with clinical data. We compared the results with 19 healthy controls. Results. The T1DM group showed a significant decrease of the nerve fiber length (P=0.032), the nerve fiber length density (P=0.034), the number of fibers (P=0.005), and the number of branchings (P=0.028), compared to healthy subjects. The nerve fiber length, nerve fiber length density, and number of fibers were directly related to the age at onset of diabetes and inversely to the duration of DM. BMI (body mass index) was highly related to the nerve fiber length (r = −0.6, P=0.007), to the nerve fiber length density (r = −0.6, P=0.007), and to the number of fibers (r = −0.587, P=0.008). No significant correlations were found between the corneal parameters and HbA1c. Conclusions. Early subclinical fiber corneal variation could be easily detected using in vivo corneal confocal microscopy, even in type 1 diabetes without any microvascular diabetes complications, including diabetic peripheral neuropathy, diabetic autonomic neuropathy, diabetic retinopathy, and microalbuminuria.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/9818217
spellingShingle Domenico Schiano Lomoriello
Irene Abicca
Mariacristina Parravano
Daniela Giannini
Benedetta Russo
Simona Frontoni
Fabiana Picconi
Early Alterations of Corneal Subbasal Plexus in Uncomplicated Type 1 Diabetes Patients
Journal of Ophthalmology
title Early Alterations of Corneal Subbasal Plexus in Uncomplicated Type 1 Diabetes Patients
title_full Early Alterations of Corneal Subbasal Plexus in Uncomplicated Type 1 Diabetes Patients
title_fullStr Early Alterations of Corneal Subbasal Plexus in Uncomplicated Type 1 Diabetes Patients
title_full_unstemmed Early Alterations of Corneal Subbasal Plexus in Uncomplicated Type 1 Diabetes Patients
title_short Early Alterations of Corneal Subbasal Plexus in Uncomplicated Type 1 Diabetes Patients
title_sort early alterations of corneal subbasal plexus in uncomplicated type 1 diabetes patients
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2019/9818217
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