Lipid peroxidation in diabetic retinopathy.

Oxidative stress has been implicated in pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy. It has been hypothesized that hyperglycaemia may damage vascular endothelium and retina by inducing the synthesis of oxidant reactive species. The aim of the present study was to estimate lipid peroxidation by detecting the concentration of malondialdehyde and 4-hydroxynonenal in diabetic patients with retinopathy, subjects without retinopathy and the reference group. Sixty-one patients were studied, including 30 patients with severe non-proliferative retinopathy in NIDDM and 31 diabetic patients without retinopathy. The reference group were 11 systemic healthy patients. Concentration of malondialdehyde and 4-hydroxynonenal was measured in plasma sample using a Lipid peroxidation Assay Kit (Calbiochem-Novabiochem Corp.). The concentration of lipid peroxidation products in patients with retinopathy was statistically significantly elevated in comparison to diabetic patients without retinopathy (p < 0.001) and the reference group (p < 0.001). We do not notice any significant differences in levels of MDA and 4-HNE between patients without diabetic retinopathy and the reference group. In view of our results we can conclude that oxidative stress is an important risk factor in the development of diabetic retinopathy.