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Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology
Published in: Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology 6/2013

01-06-2013 | Retinal Disorders

Retinal white blood cell flux and systemic blood pressure in patients with type 1 diabetes

Authors: Stefan Palkovits, Gabriele Fuchsjäger-Mayrl, Alexandra Kautzky-Willer, Sibylla Richter-Müksch, Ana Prinz, Veronika Vécsei-Marlovits, Gerhard Garhöfer, Leopold Schmetterer

Published in: Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology | Issue 6/2013

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Abstract

Aims

There is evidence that altered retinal blood flow and altered retinal blood flow regulation play a role in the development and progression of diabetic retinopathy. We compared the association between systemic blood pressure and retinal white blood cell flux in patients with type 1 diabetes and healthy control subjects.

Methods

The study was performed in 100 patients with type 1 diabetes with no or minimal diabetic retinopathy and a group of 313 age-matched healthy controls. Inclusion criteria were systolic blood pressure ≤160 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure ≤95 mmHg. None of the subjects took vasoactive medication except insulin. The blue field entoptic technique was used to assess retinal white blood cell flux, velocity and density in the perimacular region. Pressure–flow relationships were calculated for both groups to assess differences in blood flow regulation.

Results

Retinal white blood cell flux was comparable between the two study groups. Both type 1 diabetic patients and healthy subjects showed a significant positive correlation between retinal white blood cell flux and mean arterial pressure (diabetic patients: r = 0.48; p < 0.05, healthy subjects r = 0.28). The correlation coefficients between mean arterial pressure and white blood cell flux were significantly higher in patients with diabetes than in the healthy control group (p = 0.0459).

Conclusion

Retinal white blood cell flux, as assessed with the blue-field entoptic technique, is not significantly different between type 1 diabetic patients with no or minimal retinopathy and healthy control subjects. Type 1 diabetic subjects do, however, show an abnormal association between systemic blood pressure and retinal white blood cell flux. This indicates altered autoregulation in early diabetic retinopathy.
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Metadata
Title
Retinal white blood cell flux and systemic blood pressure in patients with type 1 diabetes
Authors
Stefan Palkovits
Gabriele Fuchsjäger-Mayrl
Alexandra Kautzky-Willer
Sibylla Richter-Müksch
Ana Prinz
Veronika Vécsei-Marlovits
Gerhard Garhöfer
Leopold Schmetterer
Publication date
01-06-2013
Publisher
Springer-Verlag
Published in
Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology / Issue 6/2013
Print ISSN: 0721-832X
Electronic ISSN: 1435-702X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-012-2193-3

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