EARLY DETECTION OF CHANGES IN VISUAL FUNCTION IN DIABETES-MELLITUS

Psychophysical measurements were performed with a view to providing an assessment of early neural functional integrity in the presence of no or minimal diabetic retinopathy (DR). The investigations were carried out on a normal group and a number of age-and sex-matched non-insulin dependent diabetic groups with different levels of DR. Results were c onsidered in terms of the presence of functional changes relative to t he severity of DR and the duration of diabetes. Significant deficits w ere found for visual acuity (VA), contrast sensitivity (CS) and colour vision. Both CS and colour vision measurements differentiated between non-diabetics and those with diabetes but without DR. However, none o f the tests reliably distinguished diabetics without DR from those wit h early retinal changes although VA and colour vision (especially alon g a blue-yellow colour axis) were sensitive to more substantial retina l changes, This finding suggests such tests may be useful as screening tests for more advanced levels of background DR. (C) 1998 The College of Optometrists. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.