Objectives/Goals: The objective of this study is to quantify the physical properties of the human vitreous noninvasively in vivo , by applying Brillouin Spectroscopy. Our goal is to measure the Brillouin shift and linewidth of the human vitreous in normal aging, diabetes, and myopia. Methods/Study Population: Our study population will include three groups: patients with emmetropia and no diabetes, patients with diabetes without proliferative retinopathy, and patients with axial myopia. We will exclude patients with any prior vitreoretinal surgery or other systemic or ocular conditions that may affect the vitreous such as rhegmatogenous retinal detachment or systemic collagen disorders. We will measure baseline characteristics including age, axial eye length, diabetes duration, and A1c level. We will perform a complete dilated eye exam and obtain imaging including optical coherence tomography in addition to Brillouin microscopy of the anterior and mid vitreous. Results/Anticipated Results: We anticipate the following findings based on evidence from ex vivo studies which show a decrease in vitreous viscosity in the anteroposterior axis physiologically, in addition to a normal decrease in vitreous viscosity with age. In diabetes, we expect to find an increase in the viscosity of the vitreous proportional to the duration and severity of diabetes due to glycation of the vitreous. In myopia, we expect to find accelerated age-related decline of the viscosity of the vitreous, proportional to the degree of myopia present. Discussion/Significance of Impact: Aging, diabetes, and myopia are risk factors for the development of blinding conditions like diabetic retinopathy and rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. By quantifying the mechanical changes of the vitreous related to these risk factors, we hope to identify patients at high risk for vision loss for preventive treatment and monitoring.
Mohammed et al. (2026) studied this question.