Abstract
Purpose :
To analyze levels of circulating biomarkers involved in inflammation, oxidative stress and vascular risk that can presumptively predict progression of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in type 2 diabetics (T2DM) from the Valencia Study on Diabetic Retinopathy (VSDR) cohort.
Methods :
All experiments were done according to the ARVO and EC guidelines for research. 177 participants were distributed into: 1) T2DG; n=102 and 2) controls (CG; n=75) after initial baseline assessment. Interview, ophthalmic examination [including retinal color photographs (RCP), optic coherence tomography (OCT)] and collecting blood (that was frozen until processing to biochemical/molecular approaches) was done to all participants. Participants from each group were randomly assigned (or not) to a daily intake of one pill containing antioxidants/omega 3 fatty acids (A/w3). Data were taken at baseline and every 6 months during the 2 year follow-up. Statistical processing was done by the SPSS 15.0.
Results :
Association of levels of homocysteine (Hcys), vitamin B12/folic acid (VitB12/fa), interleukin 6 (IL6), malondialdehyde (MDA/TBATS), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and glutathione (GSH) were assessed with DR endpoints that were determined from clinical criteria based on RCP/OCT data. Hcys (p=0.032), vitB12/fa (p=0.050), IL-6 (p=0.050), MDA/TBARS ( p=0.030), TAC (p=0.001) and GSH (p=0.031) plasmatic levels significantly changed in the T2DG with/without DR respect to the CG. After 2 year follow-up significantly reduced Hcys (p=0.047), IL6 (p=0.001) and MDA/TBARS (p=0.000), and increased vit B12/fa (p=0.037), TAC (p=0.050) and GSH (p=0.000) plasmatic concentrations were detected in the A/w3 supplemented vs the no supplemented T2DM, as compared to baseline
Conclusions :
After adjusting for age, gender, personal characteristics and risk factors, T2DM was strongly associated with oxidative stress, compromised vascular function and altered immune response circulating biomarkers, that can be used as dynamic monitoring factors for detecting DR progression. The oral supplementation with A/w3 may exert additional benefits in T2DM.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.