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The role of endothelial growth factor and tear levels in diabetic retinopathy in type 2 diabetes

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Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate the tear level of VEGF and the quantity of tear film in type 2 diabetic patients.

Methods

Thirty patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR group) and 30 patients with no DR (NDR group), and 30 healthy subjects with age and gender matching were enrolled in this prospective comparative study. The tear samples were collected using the Schirmer strips, and the amount of moisture absorbed by the strips was used to determine the quantitative level of the tear film. The concentration of VEGF in the tear samples was measured using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. The variables were compared with an independent t-test and covariance analysis.

Results

Mean tear level of VEGF was significantly higher in DR group (235.42 pg/ml) compared to NDR (75.11 pg/ml) and control (58.77 pg/ml) groups (P ≤ 0.001). There was no significant difference in the mean of VEGF between NDR and control patients (P = 1.00). Mean quantitative tear film levels were 7.15%, 9.72%, and 15.11% in DR, NDR, and healthy subjects, respectively (P < 0.05). The pairwise analysis showed significant differences in the level of VEGF between DR and both NDR (P = 0.001) and normal (P = 0.017) groups. However, there was no significant difference observed between NDR and normal eyes (P = 0.743).

Conclusion

The VEGF level in tear was higher in diabetic patients with DR, independent of tear volume. The tear VEGF measurement can be used as a valuable predictor to prevent DR in diabetic patients.

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Acknowledgements

The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

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The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Noor Ophthalmology Research Center, Noor Eye Hospital, Tehran, Iran

    Hassan Hashemi

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Bu-Ali Sina Hospital, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran

    Hanieh Ahmadi, Zahra Rostami, Abbas Alishahi & Zahra Heidari

  3. Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran

    Abbas Alishahi

  4. Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran

    Zahra Heidari

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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by ZH, HH, HA, ZR, and AA. The first draft of the manuscript was written by ZH and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Zahra Heidari.

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The authors have no financial interests.

Ethical approval

This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences.

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Hashemi, H., Ahmadi, H., Rostami, Z. et al. The role of endothelial growth factor and tear levels in diabetic retinopathy in type 2 diabetes. Int Ophthalmol 44, 143 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-024-03064-2

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