Retinal capillary rarefaction in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Purpose: In diabetes mellitus type 2, capillary rarefaction plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of end-organ damage. We investigated retinal capillary density in patients with early disease. Methods: This cross-sectional study compares retinal capillary rarefaction determined by intercapillary distance (ICD) and capillary area (CapA), measured non-invasively and in vivo by scanning laser Doppler flowmetry, in 73 patients with type 2 diabetes, 55 healthy controls and 134 individuals with hypertension stage 1 or 2. Results: In diabetic patients, ICD was greater (23.2±5.5 vs 20.2±4.2, p = 0.013) and CapA smaller (1592±595 vs 1821±652, p = 0.019) than in healthy controls after adjustment for differences in cardiovascular risk factors between the groups. Compared to hypertensive patients, diabetic individuals showed no difference in ICD (23.1±5.8, p = 0.781) and CapA (1556±649, p = 0.768). Conclusion: In the early stage of diabetes type 2, patients showed capillary rarefaction compared to healthy individuals.

研究目的：在2型糖尿病中，毛细血管稀疏在终末器官损害的发病机制中发挥关键作用。本研究旨在探究早期2型糖尿病患者的视网膜毛细血管密度情况。
研究方法：本项横断面研究采用扫描激光多普勒流量测定法（scanning laser Doppler flowmetry），无创且在体地测量毛细血管间距离（intercapillary distance, ICD）与毛细血管面积（capillary area, CapA），以此评估视网膜毛细血管稀疏程度；共纳入73例2型糖尿病患者、55名健康对照者，以及134例1期或2期高血压患者进行组间对比。
研究结果：校正组间心血管危险因素差异后，糖尿病患者的毛细血管间距离较健康对照者更大（23.2±5.5 vs 20.2±4.2，p=0.013），毛细血管面积则更小（1592±595 vs 1821±652，p=0.019）。与高血压患者相比，糖尿病患者的毛细血管间距离（23.1±5.8，p=0.781）与毛细血管面积（1556±649，p=0.768）均无显著差异。
研究结论：在2型糖尿病早期阶段，患者相较于健康个体存在毛细血管稀疏现象。