Abstract
Follow up observations of fluorescein fundus angiograms in 53 diabetics and 23 patients with chronic liver disease were studied to investigate the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy. It was found that (1) frequency of abnomal findings (microaneurysm, leakage of fluorescein and pseudo-dilatation of the capillaries) from fluorescein fundus angiograms in diabetics showed no relationship to age, sex, obesity index or duration of disease;(2) microaneurysms were found in almost all cases with abnomal fluorescein angioram, while small leakage of fluorescein was found more frequently in patients with liver disease than those with diabetes;(3) diabetics who showed regression of abnormal findings in fluorescein fundus angiograms, improvement in glucose tolerance, and increase in 30 min.ΔIRI/ΔBS (insulin increments, pU/ml/glucose increments, mg/dl) were found in the group of patients under good clinical control;(4) in patients with liver disease, regression of abnormal findings was very rare;(5) diabetic microangiopathy was obseved in patients with diabetes mellitus, as well as in secondary diabetics accompanied by chronic liver disease. According to their data, it seemed to be reasonable to explain that the occurence of microangiopathy in secondary diabetics was due to a relative insulin deficiency in these patients.
