Study of serum and vitrious leptin in patients with diabetic retinopathy

Abstract EN

Background: Leptin is a cytokine that regulates energy metabolism and is linked to diabetes mellitus through its metabolic actions.

It is strongly associated with metabolic disorders, hypertension and vascular complication in diabetics.

Aim of the work: the aim of this study was to correlate the levels of leptin with the state of diabetic control evidenced by fasting blood glucose & HbA1c and to assess the presence of leptin in the human eye and whether ocular leptin levels correlate with angiogenic and fibrotic complications of diabetic retinopathy. Subjects and methods: Twenty five subjects were enrolled for this study from A in Shams University hospital, Ophthalmology Department.

They were divided into 2 groups: patients group: 15 patients with type 2 diabetes who have had proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PR).

Control group: 10 apparently healthy individuals free from any systemic disease.

All subjects of the study were subjected to: Fasting blood glucose by mg / dl.

HbA1c by ion exchange chromatography.

Vitreous fluid samples were collected during vitrectomy of diabetic retinopathy patients, as well as control subjects who were subjected to vitrectomy for other causes like trauma.

Vitreous fluid leptin level in ng / ml by ELIZA.

Serum leptin level in ng / ml by ELIZA. Results: Vitreous leptin was significantly higher in diabetic patients with PR (5.11+4.8 ng / ml) than controls (0.45+0.6 ng / ml), (p < 0.01).

Meanwhile, serum leptin (35.3±15.7 ng / ml) was found to be significantly higher in diabetic patients than the control group (20.9±13.1 ng / ml), (p<0.05).

There was positive correlation between serum leptin and vitreous leptin in diabetic patients with PR (r=0.663, p< 0.01).

There was no significant correlation between levels of vitreous leptin and serum leptin in the control group