Influence of diabetes on macular thickness measured using optical coherence tomography: the Singapore Indian Eye Study.

PURPOSE: To determine the influence of diabetes, diabetic retinopathy (DR), and other factors on macular thickness, measured using optical coherence tomography (OCT), in a population-based sample. METHODS: Data from the population-based Singapore Indian Eye Study were analyzed. We measured macular thickness using Stratus OCT Fast Macular Thickness scan protocol in 228 participants with diabetes mellitus (including 167 without DR, 44 with mild DR, 17 with moderate or severe DR) and 72 non-diabetic controls without macular oedema or other macular lesions. Analysis was done on right eyes. RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 60.1 ± 10.1 years, with 53.8% men. Macular thickness measurements did not differ significantly between diabetic participants with no or mild DR and non-diabetic participants. Diabetic participants with moderate or severe DR had greater foveal and temporal outer macula thickness compared with those with no or mild DR (P=0.003). In a multivariate linear regression model, older age (P=0.009), male gender (P=0.005), and lower spherical equivalent (P=0.001) were other factors associated with greater foveal thickness in all participants after controlling for body mass index, glycosylated haemoglobin, total cholesterol, and mean systolic blood pressure. CONCLUSION: This population-based study showed that diabetic participants with moderate or severe DR had thicker foveal measurements, even in the absence of diabetic macula oedema, than non-diabetic controls. Other factors that influenced macular thickness measurements were age, gender, and spherical equivalent. These data may aid the interpretation of OCT findings in persons with diabetes and DR.

[Experimental study of the factors influencing the multiplication and numbers of bream dactylogyrids]. / Opyt éksperimental'nogo izucheniia faktorov, vliiaiushchikh na razmnozhenie i chislennost' daktilogirusov leshcha.

Experiments conducted have shown that water temperature can affect dactylogyrids in two ways. From one hand, the direct influence stimulates the development and reproduction of the parasites that results in the increase of their abundance. From the other hand, the indirect effect can take place. The rise in the temperature increases the general resistence of the fish organism and favours the formation of immunological reaction to hyperinfection that causes the further fall in the parasite abundance. Thus, the seasonal dynamics of the abundance of dactylogyrids depends on the complex interaction of these two factors.