Observe The Corneal Subbasal Nerves In Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus By Corneal Confocal Microscopy

OBJECTIVE: To study the morphological changes of subbasalar nerve fibers in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus,and to study their association with diabetes duration and blood glucose control.METHODS: A total of 25 diabetic patients and 25 healthy volunteers(control group)were examined by confocal microscopy to observe and study the morphological changes of the sub-basal corneal nerve fibers.At the same time,the correlation between diabetic course and glycosylated hemoglobin and corneal submental nerve fiber damage was analyzed.RESULTS: The indexes of corneal submural nerve fibers in the diabetic group were significantly different from those in the normal control group(all P<0.05),suggesting that the subbasalar nerve fibers of diabetic patients were damaged.The nerve fiber density and the number of nerve stems were significantly reduced compared with the control group,and the degree of nerve fiber bending was significantly increased.At the same time,the above parameters of diabetic patients were analyzed with the course of diabetes and blood glucose control.It was found that the density of thesubbasalar nerve fibers and the number of nerve trunks in patients with diabetes were negatively correlated with the duration of diabetes,and the degree of nerve fiber curvature was positively correlated with the duration of diabetes.Diabetic patients had a positive correlation between the number of nerves under the corneal basement membrane and glycemic control,and nerve fiber density and curvature were negatively correlated with glycemic control.Conclusion: The results of this study are basically consistent with the results of related studies,suggesting that corneal nerve fibers in diabetic patients are damaged.Corneal confocal microscopy is of great significance in the morphological diagnosis of diabetic neuropathy.