Multimodal functional and anatomic imaging identifies preclinical microvascular abnormalities in type 1 diabetes mellitus

Structural and functional changes in the microcirculation in type 1 diabetes mellitus predict future end-organ damage and macrovascular events. We explored the utility of novel signal processing techniques to detect and track changes in ocular hemodynamics in patients with this disease. Twenty-four patients with uncomplicated type 1 diabetes mellitus and eighteen age- and sex-matched control subjects were studied. Doppler ultrasound was used to interrogate the carotid and ophthalmic arteries, and digital photography was used to image the retinal vasculature. Frequency analysis algorithms were applied to quantify velocity waveform structure and retinal photographic data at baseline and after inhalation of 100% O2. Frequency data were compared between groups. No significant differences were found in the resistive index between groups at baseline or after inhaled O2. Frequency analysis of Doppler flow velocity waveforms identified significant differences in bands 3–7 between patients and control subjects in ...