Evidence mapPaperPMID 41776294Full record

ArticleEye (London, England)2026

Evaluation of photoreceptor integrity in diabetic retinopathy using high-resolution optical coherence tomography.

Kim Lien Huber, Dorota Himmel, Irene Steiner, Natasa Jeremic, Paul Widmann-Sedlnitzky, Heiko Stino, Laura Kunze, Gregor S Reiter, Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth, Andreas Pollreisz

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Article in Eye (London, England), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Kim Lien HuberDepartment of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Dorota HimmelDepartment of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Irene SteinerCenter for Medical Data Science, Institute of Medical Statistics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Natasa JeremicDepartment of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Paul Widmann-SedlnitzkyDepartment of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Heiko StinoDepartment of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0233-359X
Laura KunzeDepartment of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Gregor S ReiterDepartment of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7661-4015
Ursula Schmidt-ErfurthDepartment of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7788-7311
Andreas PollreiszDepartment of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. andreas.pollreisz@meduniwien.ac.at.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3902-239X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe relative ellipsoid zone reflectivity (rEZR) is a promising imaging biomarker for photoreceptor integrity, but its variation across diabetic retinopathy (DR) stages remains unclear. This study investigates rEZR changes across different DR severities using high-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging.

methodsFor this exploratory cross-sectional study, 64 eyes of 44 patients were included (17 eyes: no DR, 33 eyes: non-proliferative DR (NPDR), 14 eyes: proliferative DR (PDR)). Imaging was performed using high-resolution spectral-domain OCT (SPECTRALIS HighRes OCT, Heidelberg Engineering, axial resolution: 3 μm). rEZR (ratio between ellipsoid zone and external limiting membrane reflectivity) was measured at the foveola, within the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study ETDRS grid (central 1 mm, inner ring, outer ring) and peripapillary. Linear mixed models assessed the association between rEZR, DR stage and visual acuity.

resultsIn the outer macular ring, mean rEZR was significantly lower in PDR compared to no DR (p = 0.005) and NPDR (p = 0.045). In the total area, mean rEZR was significantly lower in PDR compared to no DR (p = 0.016) and NPDR (p = 0.032). Peripapillary mean rEZR was significantly lower in NPDR compared to no DR (p = 0.013) and in PDR compared to no DR (p = 0.033). No significant group differences were observed in the foveola, central 1 mm or inner macular ring.

conclusionOur data suggest that more advanced stages of DR are associated with a decrease in photoreceptor integrity, with statistically significant group differences predominantly observed in the outer macular regions and peripapillary.

Indexed as

Diabetic RetinopathyPhotoreceptor Cells, VertebrateTomography, Optical CoherenceAgedCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedVisual Acuity

Identifiers

PMID41776294
PMCPMC13194956

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.