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. 2022 May 15;13(5):408-416.
doi: 10.4239/wjd.v13.i5.408.

Changes and significance of retinal blood oxygen saturation and oxidative stress indexes in patients with diabetic retinopathy

Xiao-Li Wang  1 , Fang-Rong Cai  1 , Yun-Xia Gao  2 , Jian Zhang  1 , Ming Zhang  3
Affiliations

Changes and significance of retinal blood oxygen saturation and oxidative stress indexes in patients with diabetic retinopathy

Xiao-Li Wang et al. World J Diabetes. .

Abstract

Background: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a diabetic complication that can severely affect the patients' vision, eventually leading to blindness. DR is the most important manifestation of diabetic micro-vasculopathy and is mainly related to the course of diabetes and the degree of blood glucose control, while the age of diabetes onset, sex, and type of diabetes have little influence on it.

Aim: To explore the changes in blood oxygen saturation and oxidative stress indices of retinal vessels in patients with DR.

Methods: In total, 94 patients (94 eyes) with DR (DR group) diagnosed at Jianyang people's Hospital between March 2019 and June 2020, and 100 volunteers (100 eyes) (control group) without eye diseases, were included in this study. Arterial and venous blood oxygen saturation, retinal arteriovenous vessel diameter, and serum oxidative stress indicators in the two groups were compared. Based on the stage of the disease, the DR group was divided into the simple DR and proliferative DR groups for stratified analysis.

Results: The oxygen saturation of the retinal vessels in the DR group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P < 0.05). The retinal vessel diameters between the DR and control groups were not significantly different. The serum malondialdehyde (MDA) and 8-hydroxydehydroguanosine (8-OHdG) levels in the DR group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels in the DR group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The oxygen saturation of the retinal vessels in the patients with proliferative DR was significantly higher than that in the patients with simple DR (P < 0.05). The retinal vessel diameter in patients with proliferative DR was not significantly different from that of patients with simple DR (P > 0.05). Serum MDA and 8-OHdG levels in patients with proliferative DR were significantly higher than those in patients with simple DR (P < 0.05). Serum SOD and GSH levels in patients with proliferative DR were significantly lower than those in patients with simple DR (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: Increased blood oxygen saturation of retinal arteries and veins and increased oxidative stress damage in patients with DR may be associated with decreased retinal capillary permeability and arterial oxygen dispersion, possibly reflecting the patient's condition.

Keywords: Blood oxygen saturation; Diabetes; Diabetic retinopathy; Oxidative stress; Retinopathy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: We declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Histograms of retinal artery, venous oxygen saturation, diameters of retinal arteries and veins of two groups of subjects. A: Histograms of retinal artery and venous oxygen saturation; B: Histograms of the diameters of retinal arteries and veins. DR: Diabetic retinopathy.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Histogram of retinal artery, venous oxygen saturation and vein diameters in patients with different diabetic retinopathy stages. A: Histogram of retinal artery and venous oxygen saturation; B: Histogram of retinal artery and vein diameters. PDR: Proliferative diabetic retinopathy; NPDR: Non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Results of retinal color images of different subjects. A: The control group; B: The simple diabetic retinopathy (DR) group; C: The proliferative DR group.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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