Both the ageing process and diabetes promote changes on the human retina, although not always visible through the regular eye fundus examination. The authors’ research group has been focused on imaging changes within the human retina of diabetic patients aiming for better characterisation and on detection at the very early stages even when these cannot be detected in the eye fundus.
Current trends in medical imaging point to the increasing use of non-invasive techniques. In this sense, the authors started focusing our efforts in assessing the possibility of gathering information from the eye fundus through non-invasive techniques. Nevertheless, these are required to provide the same or even higher levels of information than the one currently provided. A particularly interesting non-invasive technique in use in the field of ophthalmology is the optical coherence tomography (OCT). This imaging technique is spreading quickly and, in consequence, is becoming available in multiple eye care facilities.
The authors research group has been interested in diabetic retinopathy with a special focus on the breakdown of the blood–retinal barrier (BRB) in consequence of diabetes.1–3 The number of diabetic patients is increasing worldwide4 and this multifactorial disease has a large social and economic impact in the active working population.5
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