Refereed journal article or data article (A1)
Macular blood flow during pregnancy in patients with early diabetic retinopathy measured by blue-field entoptic simulation
List of Authors: Hellstedt T, Kaaja R, Teramo K, Immonen I
Publication year: 1996
Journal: Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology
Journal name in source: Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie
Journal acronym: Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol
Volume number: 234
Issue number: 11
Start page: 659
End page: 63
Number of pages: 5
ISSN: 0721-832X
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00292350
Abstract
To study macular capillary blood flow velocity during pregnancy and postpartum in diabetic women with minimal diabetic retinopathy.\nMacular capillary blood velocity was measured using the blue-field entoptic simulation technique in 17 type I diabetic pregnant women with minimal background retinopathy and 10 healthy pregnant women at the 12th and 32nd-36th weeks of pregnancy and 3 months after delivery. Red-free fundus photography was also performed at all visits.\nCapillary blood velocities at the 12th week of pregnancy were 1.09 +/- 0.37 mm/s in the diabetic women and 0.81 +/- 0.21 mm/s in the controls(P = 0.017), at the 32nd week 0.93 +/- 0.19 mm/s and 0.94 +/- 0.24 mm/s (P = 0.880), and 3 months postpartum 0.98 +/- 0.25 mm/s and 0.75 +/- 0.17 mm/s (P = 0.016), respectively. Analysis of variance indicated that there was a significant difference in leukocyte velocities during the course of pregnancy, with the flow being constantly elevated in diabetic women, but increasing by term in nondiabetic women (P = 0.039). Capillary flow velocity showed a statistically non-significant tendency to be higher in patients with HbA1c levels > 6.4%. Capillary flow velocity levels were not connected with changes in the number of microaneurysms. Capillary leukocyte density in the pregnant diabetic women did not differ from that of nondiabetic pregnant women.\nThese data suggest that during pregnancy there is a difference in retinal capillary blood flow between diabetic women with minimal background retinopathy and normal women. The lack of increase in blood flow in macular capillaries during diabetic pregnancy may reflect redistribution of retinal capillary flow during diabetic pregnancy or be due to altered rheological properties of blood components in diabetic pregnancy.\nPURPOSE\nMETHODS\nRESULTS\nCONCLUSIONS
To study macular capillary blood flow velocity during pregnancy and postpartum in diabetic women with minimal diabetic retinopathy.\nMacular capillary blood velocity was measured using the blue-field entoptic simulation technique in 17 type I diabetic pregnant women with minimal background retinopathy and 10 healthy pregnant women at the 12th and 32nd-36th weeks of pregnancy and 3 months after delivery. Red-free fundus photography was also performed at all visits.\nCapillary blood velocities at the 12th week of pregnancy were 1.09 +/- 0.37 mm/s in the diabetic women and 0.81 +/- 0.21 mm/s in the controls(P = 0.017), at the 32nd week 0.93 +/- 0.19 mm/s and 0.94 +/- 0.24 mm/s (P = 0.880), and 3 months postpartum 0.98 +/- 0.25 mm/s and 0.75 +/- 0.17 mm/s (P = 0.016), respectively. Analysis of variance indicated that there was a significant difference in leukocyte velocities during the course of pregnancy, with the flow being constantly elevated in diabetic women, but increasing by term in nondiabetic women (P = 0.039). Capillary flow velocity showed a statistically non-significant tendency to be higher in patients with HbA1c levels > 6.4%. Capillary flow velocity levels were not connected with changes in the number of microaneurysms. Capillary leukocyte density in the pregnant diabetic women did not differ from that of nondiabetic pregnant women.\nThese data suggest that during pregnancy there is a difference in retinal capillary blood flow between diabetic women with minimal background retinopathy and normal women. The lack of increase in blood flow in macular capillaries during diabetic pregnancy may reflect redistribution of retinal capillary flow during diabetic pregnancy or be due to altered rheological properties of blood components in diabetic pregnancy.\nPURPOSE\nMETHODS\nRESULTS\nCONCLUSIONS
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