Clinical Research Directory

The Potential of Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCTA) to Detect Early Cognitive Dysfunction in Diabetic Patients

Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is one of the most common complications of diabetes, and its association with cognitive dysfunctions is becoming an increasingly frequent research interest. Non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) encompasses early changes at the microvascular level, which can be detected quantitatively and qualitatively through optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) well before the first symptoms of this disease appear. Cognitive dysfunction is often unrecognized in the early stages of diabetes. This research will focus on examining the association between OCTA parameters and cognitive functions in patients with NPDR. The aim of this study is to investigate the correlation between OCTA parameters and cognitive functions in patients with NPDR using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scale to assess cognitive abilities and to establish a connection between OCTA biomarkers and changes in cognitive function. Patients with type 2 diabetes will be included in the study. Patients with proliferations and diabetic macular edema affecting the center and reducing visual acuity will be excluded to minimize error in cognitive function assessment caused by vision impairment. OCTA will be used to analyze microvascular changes in the retina, including capillary density and areas of the avascular zone. At the same time, the MoCA scale will be used to assess cognitive function, focusing on aspects of memory, attention, executive function, and orientation. Data analysis will investigate correlations between OCTA parameters, the presence of diabetic retinopathy-related changes in the eye fundus, as well as the stage of retinopathy and MoCA scale scores, taking into account factors such as diabetes duration, previous diabetes treatment, lipid status, anthropometric parameters, and glycemic control. The results of this research are expected to provide better insight into the early diagnosis of cognitive dysfunctions in patients with diabetes, thereby contributing to the development of targeted interventions.