Correlations of the Severity of Type 2 Diabetic Retinopathy with Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor, Inflammatory Factors and Oxidative Stress in Serum and Aqueous Humor

Objective: To assess the correlations of type 2 diabetic retinopathy (DR) severity with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), IL-6, IL-1 β and TNF- α and oxidative stress. Methods: 80 patients with type 2 DR were divided into non-proliferative DR (NPDR) group [NPDR + /diabetic macular edema (DME) − group], NPDR with DME group (NPDR + /DME + group), proliferative DR (PDR) group (PDR + /DME − group) and PDR with DME group (PDR + /DME + group) according to non-mydriatic fundus examination and angiography. Another 20 patients without DR and DME were selected as control group (DR − /DME − group). VEGF, inflammatory factors (IL-6, IL-1 β and TNF- α ) and mal-ondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were measured. Changes in hemodynamic parameters were detected by color Doppler ultrasound. Results: Compared with those in control group, the inflammatory factors, VEGF, MDA and SOD were significantly increased in the other four groups of patients with RD, in which inflammatory factors and VEGF level were significantly higher in PDR patients than those in NPDR, and higher in DME patients than patients without DME. However, the hemodynamic parameters showed a significantly decreasing trend (all P < 0.05). A positive correlation of VEGF with inflammatory factors was found in aqueous humor. Conclusion: Inflammatory reactions, oxidative stress and angiogenesis are found in DR patients at early stage and during the disease progression. Combined monitoring of their changes is helpful for the early diagnosis of DR. Meanwhile, anti-inflammation, anti-oxidative stress and reversing of angiogenesis treatment might delay DR progression.