10-year Progression of Diabetic Retinopathy: Identification of Signs and Surrogate Outcomes (PROGRESS10)

To characterize both functionally and morphologically initial Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) stages and their progression over a period of 10 years.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Diabetic Retinopathy

Detailed Description

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the most frequent complication of diabetes mellitus and the leading cause of legal blindness in active populations of industrialized countries. Progression of DR has been up to now classified according to the ETDRS classification, based on a multicentric study that evaluated the effect of laser photocoagulation on advanced stages of DR. Although appropriate for late stages of DR, it does not grade progression well in the initial stages of the disease. Initial stages of DR require urgent characterization and their evolution should be well defined because some of the lesions are still reversible.

The early stages of DR are characterized by 4 main alterations: microaneurysms (MA) and retinal hemorrhages, represented by red dots in the fundus, blood-retinal barrier breakdown, capillary closure and damage of neuronal and glial cells of the retina. Thus, there are both microvascular changes, with endothelial cell and pericyte damage with thickening of basement membrane, and neuronal changes.

Based on previous studies, progression of DR does not occur at the same rate in all patients. Some never develop vision loss, whereas others rapidly progress to macular edema or neovascularization leading to vision loss. The understanding of the mechanisms that balance in different direction is of outmost importance. The duration of diabetes mellitus and the metabolic control are major risk factors for DR progression, but they are insufficient to explain the great variability observed in patients.

Recent data indicate that MA turnover may be an appropriate indicator of DR progression. Our research group has identified different DR progression phenotypes. Phenotype A is characterized by a low MA turnover, phenotype B characterized by increased thickness and phenotype C with predominant ischemia, with a high MA turnover. These phenotypes were defined based on MA turnover (RetmarkerDR) and on central retinal thickness (RT) measured by Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and the model was able to correctly identify eyes at risk of progression. 61,8-76,7% of eyes with an increase RT in the central subfield, inner and/or outer ring allowed a MA formation rate ≥ 2 and/or a MA turnover ≥ 6. More recently, some genetic variants have been linked to the different phenotypes and may explain specific progression patterns.

There is emerging evidence to suggest that retinal neurodegeneration is an early event in the pathogenesis of DR and that it could participate in the development of microvascular abnormalities. The understanding of the underlying mechanisms leading to neurodegeneration and the identification of the mediators between neurodegeneration and microangiopathy is essential.

The Investigators aim to understand the extent of these cell abnormalities in the initial stages of DR and to characterize their progression.

Analysis of retinal thickness using OCT offers non-invasive evaluation of retinal edema and can suggest an appropriate treatment target. The Investigators will use recent and innovative approaches as Spectral domain OCT (SD-OCT) with retinal layers segmentation to study neurodegenerative changes occurring in DR. OCT-Angiography and OCT-Leakage layer by layer analysis will be used for microvasculature and blood retinal barrier assessment.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 119

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Portugal
  • Coimbra, Portugal, 3000-548
    • AIBILI - Association for Innovation and Biomedical Research on Light and Image

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 35 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Male and female subjects older than 50 years-old with type 2 Diabetes mellitus and no Diabetic Retinopathy or mild Non-Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy who have participated in the PROGRESS study (NCT03010397).

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Subjects who have participated in the PROGRESS study;
• Subjects capable of understanding the information about the study and to give their informed consent to enter the study.
• Subjects willing and able to comply with the study

Exclusion Criteria:

- Inadequate ocular media and/ or pupil dilatation that interfere with fundus examinations

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Phenotypic classification of DR in a 5-year period	Presence CME (Central Macular Edema) or PDR (Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy)	5 years
DR severity level	Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study Research Group, grading (7 fields-CFP)	5 years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Retinal thickness analysis	Retinal thickness (RT) in central subfield, inner and outer rings, assessed by SD-OCT and using layer-by-layer segmentation	5 years
Ellipsoid zone analysis	Degree of integrity of the ellipsoid zone, assessed by SD-OCT	5 years
Choroidal thickness analysis	Choroidal thickness assessed by Enhanced Depth Imaging (EDI) SD-OCT	5 years
SD- OCT- Angiography analysis	Vessel analysis, assessed by SD-OCT OCT-Angiography	5 years
OCT-Leakage analysis	LOR (low optical reflectivity) ratio in central subfield, inner and outer ring for assessment of BRB breakdown, assessed by OCT-Leakage	5 years
Retinal thickness quantification	Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFL) and ganglion cells layer (GCL) + inner plexiform layer thickness (IPL) thickness, assessed by layer-by-layer SD-OCT	5 years
mfERG assessement	P1 implicit time and P1 amplitude by ring	5 years

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Association for Innovation and Biomedical Research on Light and Image
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Inês P Marques, MD, AIBILI - Association for Innovation and Biomedical Research on Light and Image

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 1, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 27, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): March 27, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 25, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 1, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): December 2, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 16, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 15, 2024
• Last Verified: October 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Cardiovascular Diseases; Vascular Diseases; Eye Diseases; Endocrine System Diseases; Diabetic Angiopathies; Diabetes Complications; Diabetes Mellitus; Retinal Diseases; Diabetic Retinopathy
• Other Study ID Numbers: CEC/011/20

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No