As 6th year medical student of the Semmelweis University, I researched to diagnose early stage damages in type 1 diabetic patients at the Eye Clinic.

Diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of blindness amongst working-age adults in Western countries. Former studies have shown a significant thinning of the retinal ganglion cell layer in association to healthy controlls even in eyes with minimal diabetic retinopathy (DR).

In our study we investigated the early thickness changes of retinal layers in 40 eyes of 40 type 1 diabetic patients with no or minimal DR. Our results showed the destruction of ganglion cells early in the course of DR, supporting the possible role of retinal neurodegeneration in diabetes.