For patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), there is an unmet need for novel biomarkers that can reliably track kidney injury, demonstrate treatment response, and predict outcomes. Microvascular changes are important in CKD development and progression, and currently, these can only be assessed reliably through kidney biopsy. Given the structural similarities between the kidney and the eye, researchers investigated whether 3D images of the retina, using optical coherence tomography (OCT), can be used to detect and predict the course of kidney disease. Researchers looked at OCT images from 204 patients at different stages of kidney disease, including transplant patients.
They found that patients with chronic kidney disease had thinner retinas than healthy volunteers. The study also showed that thinning of the retina progressed as kidney function declined. These changes were reversed,…
