# Imaging of Retinal Oxygen Metabolism in Diabetic Retinopathy

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA · 2020 · $425,288

## Abstract

Abstract
Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is currently the leading cause of vision loss in working age adults. With the
anticipated growth of the diabetic population, the number of visually impaired diabetic people who cannot work
or care for themselves will continue to be a major public health concern. Vision loss prevention due to DR
requires early diagnosis, regular monitoring, and timely therapeutic intervention. Currently, the unmet clinical
needs are the ability to prospectively identify which diabetic individuals will develop DR, progress to vision-
threatening stages, or respond favorably to therapy. A generally recognized factor that contributes to the
development of vision-threatening pathologies due to DR is retinal hypoxia, which can subsequently impair
oxygen metabolism. Maintenance of oxygen metabolism is essential for energy production that is vital for cells
to survive and perform visual processing. Inner retinal oxygen metabolism is maintained by the balance of
inner retinal oxygen delivery and oxygen extraction fraction. Although the retinal tissue and microvasculature
have been extensively studied from an anatomical perspective, there is limited information about alterations in
retinal oxygen metabolic function and energy production due to DR. The research proposal will overcome this
limitation by an innovative, quantitative, and comprehensive multimodal imaging approach to elucidate
alterations in oxygen metabolism and defects in regulatory mechanisms that occur at progressive stages of
DR, with application of treatment, and in relation to retinal capillary plexus morphology. The specific aims are
to: 1) identify inner retina oxygen-metabolic metrics that are associated with stages of DR and indicative of
past glycemic control; 2) determine pre-treatment inner retina oxygen-metabolic metrics that are predictive of
treatment outcome; 3) elucidate associations among inner retina oxygen-metabolic metrics, capillary plexus
morphology and cell layer thickness at stages of DR. The findings will broaden knowledge of DR
pathophysiology, improve diagnostic and prognostic evaluation, and propel search for new preventative and
therapeutic interventions. The research study can potentially transform clinical assessment of DR, thereby
significantly impacting the quality of life of diabetic people and the cost of caring for visually impaired
individuals.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9886053
- **Project number:** 1R01EY030115-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Mahnaz Shahidi
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $425,288
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-01-01 → 2024-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9886053

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9886053, Imaging of Retinal Oxygen Metabolism in Diabetic Retinopathy (1R01EY030115-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9886053. Licensed CC0.

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