The Relation between the Serum Level of Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha and the Grade of Retinopathy in Egyptian Type 2 Diabetic Patients
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The Relation between the Serum Level of Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha and the Grade of Retinopathy in Egyptian Type 2 Diabetic Patients,SAFA R. ABD EL-MONIEM, NAGWA ABD EL-GHAFAAR MOHAMAD, AHMAD A. ZAKI and SAMAR F. FARID
Abstract
Diabetes mellitus causes metabolic and physiological abnormalities in the retina suggestive the role of inflammation in the development of diabetic retinopathy. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a is a pleiotropic cytokine implicated for early inflammatory changes seen in the diabetic retina. A strong correlation between the serum levels of TNF-a and the severity of diabetic retinopathy has been described. The aim of this study is to estimate the serum levels of TNF-a in Egyptian type 2 diabetic patients with different grades of retinopathy and correlating these levels to the grade of retinopathy. Eighty subjects participated in the study and they were classified into four groups; group (A) with type 2 diabetes but no retinopathy, group (B) with non proliferative type 2 diabetic retinopathy, group (C) with proliferative type 2 diabetic retinopathy and group (D) which was a control group of subjects matched for age and sex with the other groups. The study revealed a progressive elevation of serum TNF-a in type 2 diabetic patients according to the progression of retinopathy and that the serum levels of TNF-a were signifi-cantly correlated with the grade of retinopathy which was also significantly correlated with age and duration of diabetes but not with sex. A common feature of a number of new therapies for diabetic retinopathy is inhibition of the production of inflammatory mediators.