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Retinal blood flow velocity in metabolic syndrome

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Abstract

Background

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is characterized by obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. The Retinal Function Imager (RFI) is a new technique for measuring retinal blood-flow velocity. This study aims to compare retinal blood flow velocity between MetS and healthy subjects.

Methods

Twenty eyes of 20 MetS males and 21 eyes of 21 aged-matched healthy males underwent RFI and carotid–femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) measurement as well as assessment of MetS parameters. The results in MetS and healthy subjects were compared.

Results

The average venular velocity in the MetS patients was significantly higher than in the healthy subjects (2.7 ± 0.0 mm/sec versus 2.5 ± 0.0 mm/sec respectively, P = 0.013), following adjustment for age, heart rate and systolic blood pressure. Carotid–femoral PWV was higher in the MetS population than the healthy controls (10.3 ± 1.2 mm/sec versus 9.3 ± 1.5 mm/sec respectively, P = 0.005). The diastolic blood pressure and MAP were correlated strongly with the arterial blood flow velocities in healthy subjects (r = 0.503, P = 0.020 and r = 0.474, P = 0.030 respectively) but not in MetS subjects.

Conclusions

The RFI was able to distinguish between the retinal blood flow of normal and MetS subjects. Higher venular blood flow velocity and the poor correlation between velocity and blood pressure of MetS subjects suggest that MetS causes microvascular damage.

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Competing interest

Zvia Burgansky-Eliash was employed by Optical Imaging, Ltd. All other authors declare no competing interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, Be’er Ya’akov, 70300, Israel

    Shay Gutfreund & Russell Pokroy

  2. Metabolic Unit, Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Elena Izkhakov, Marianna Yaron, Hanny Yeshua & Ardon Rubinstein

  3. Department of Ophthalmology, The Edith Wolfson Medical Center, Holon, Israel

    Zvia Burgansky-Eliash

  4. Department of Ophthalmology, Sourasky Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Adiel Barak

Authors
  1. Shay Gutfreund
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  2. Elena Izkhakov
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  3. Russell Pokroy
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  4. Marianna Yaron
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  5. Hanny Yeshua
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  6. Zvia Burgansky-Eliash
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  7. Adiel Barak
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  8. Ardon Rubinstein
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Correspondence to Russell Pokroy.

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Gutfreund, S., Izkhakov, E., Pokroy, R. et al. Retinal blood flow velocity in metabolic syndrome. Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 251, 1507–1513 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-013-2325-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-013-2325-4

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