Structure-function in SCM
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Structure-function correlation in sickle cell maculopathy
IRAS ID
328262
Contact name
Christiana Dinah
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 3 months, 31 days
Research summary
Sickle cell disease is one of the most common genetic disorders in the United Kingdom. It is well described that sickle cell disease can affect the eyes. Most commonly, this is by causing abnormal blood vessels to grow in the far part of the retina (the light sensitive film at the back of the eye). However, sickle cell disease can also cause damage to the center of the retina, known as the macula. The macula is responsible for detailed vision. When sickle cell disease affects the macula, this is known as sickle cell maculopathy. Sickle cell maculopathy is now seen more commonly in eye clinics because of the introduction of a test called optical coherence tomography (OCT), which allows very quick, detailed images of the macula to be obtained. OCT-angiography (OCT-A) allows us to look at the detailed structure of the macula as well as the blood vessels in the macular, which we know are often reduced in sickle cell maculopathy. When we use the traditional ways of measuring vision, many people with sickle cell maculopathy appear to have good vision. However, there have been suggestions that sickle cell maculopathy may affect vision in ways that are not easily measured using the simple eye charts used in most eye clinics. The current study seeks to understand how abnormalities in the macula detected using OCT and OCT-A are related to the function of the macular using microperimetry - a simple test that measures the function of the macular by presenting different intensity of light to the patient and mapping which parts of the macular respond.
REC name
London - South East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/PR/0717
Date of REC Opinion
30 Jun 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion