Linking Retinal Nonperfusion to Sensitivity Loss: New Insights for Diabetic Retinopathy

A UK longitudinal cohort linked retinal capillary nonperfusion on ultra-widefield angiography to localized declines in retinal sensitivity on automated perimetry, suggesting perfusion maps identify functionally relevant retinal areas.

Unlike imaging-centric workflows that rely on structural surrogates, this multisite longitudinal cohort ties perfusion deficits to patient-relevant sensory loss. The study tracked perfusion and sensitivity over time, emphasizing functional measures that align more closely with everyday visual experience and may detect change that structural metrics miss.

The cohort observed that larger areas of capillary nonperfusion correlated with greater localized reductions in retinal sensitivity.

Perfusion was mapped using ultra-widefield angiography and sensitivity quantified with static automated perimetry, including central and peripheral protocols. Nonperfusion maps were spatially registered to perimetry grids to link localized structural dropout with corresponding functional thresholds—an approach practical for multicenter trials and valuable for spatially resolved outcome measurement.