Student Researchers' Society Topics

Student Researchers' Society Topics

Co-supervisor: Dr. KÖLKEDI, Zsófia

Diabetic retinopathy is one of the leading cause of blindness. The prevalence rate of diabetic retinopathy for adults with diabetes aged 40 and older has been estimated 34,6%, it is 93 million peolpe worldwide. The number of newly diagnosed type 1 diabetic patient increases with 3,4%

per year in Europe. The incidence of the disease will double in the next 20 years, if this trend continous. The well known triad of diabetic microangiopathy are nephropathy, neuropathy and retinopathy.

The aim of our research is to examine patients with different severity of diabetes for retinal microangipathy with Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCTA).

OCTA is a noninvasive approach that can visualize the retinal capillary network and the choriocapillaris layer without fluorescein dye. OCTA employs motion contrast imaging, it detect the moving red blood cells in the vessels. Capillary non perfusion is an early event in diabetes, it leads to ischaemia and tissue damage. Using OCTA preclinical microvascular changes can be detected.

Our plan is to discover biomarkers to predict higher risk of progression and using this prevent the irreversible retinal damage. The early detection of ophthalmological complications of diabetes has therapeutic effect, later morbidity can be preventable.

Our research plan involves data collection on risk factors and demographic features of ocular surface malignancies. Based on these data, we plan on analysing disease process and outcome. On the other hand, in vivo diagnostics of these rare neoplasias, following up patients, recording disease process, response to treatment and surgeries are also included in the study plan.  To correlate the in vivo examinations with the histology results for patients who underwent surgical excision is another aim. Our further plan to gain short and long term experience with topical chemo- and immunotherapy and to interpret these results.