TY - JOUR T1 - Effects of Ocufolin on retinal microvasculature in patients with mild non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy carrying polymorphisms of the MTHFR gene JF - BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care JO - BMJ Open Diab Res Care DO - 10.1136/bmjdrc-2021-002327 VL - 9 IS - 1 SP - e002327 AU - Zhiping Liu AU - Hong Jiang AU - Justin H Townsend AU - Jianhua Wang Y1 - 2021/09/01 UR - http://drc.bmj.com/content/9/1/e002327.abstract N2 - Introduction To evaluate effects of Ocufolin on retinal microvasculature in mild non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy patients who carried methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) polymorphisms (DR+MTHFRP).Research design and methods This is a prospective cohort study. Eight DR+MTHFRP (administrated Ocufolin for 6 months) and 15 normal controls (NCs) were recruited. MTHFR polymorphisms were subtyped as normal, C677T, or A1298C. Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was evaluated. Retinal vessel density (VD) and microstructure were evaluated by optical coherence tomography angiography.Results BCVA and vascular indices of DR+MTHFRP at baseline were worse than those of NC and improved. Compared with baseline, DR+MTHFRP had significantly improved BCVA during follow-up period (p<0.05). VD of superficial vascular plexus was increased at 4 months (p=0.012), while VD of retinal vascular network did not change (p>0.05). Carriers of A1298C and C677T showed statistically significant increase in VD at all layers by 6 months, while carriers of C677T alone showed no significant change and carriers of A1298C alone showed decreased density from 4 months to 6 months. Microstructure did not change during the follow-up period.Conclusion A 6-month intake of Ocufolin is capable of reversing structural changes of microangiopathy in mild non-proliferative DR+MTHFRP. This suggests a novel way to address these impairments prior to catastrophic vision loss.Data are available in a public, open access repository. JW had full access to all data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis. ER -