Assessment of retina and choroid using optical coherence tomography in health, hypertension and chronic kidney disease

There is an urgent need for new antibiotics to counter increasing resistance to antibiotics globally. There exists a relationship between diseases affecting the blood vessels in the kidneys and in the eyes. However, this is largely unexplored. Using a novel, quick, and non-invasive method, we have found that the layers in the back of the eye are thinner in patients with kidney dysfunction than in health. This thinning relates to the degree of kidney dysfunction, the amount of protein in the urine (a predictor of heart disease), and measures of inflammation. We would now like to examine this in more varied patients. Ultimately, these eye changes may help us to manage patients with kidney disease.