Is leptin associated with diabetic retinopathy?
OBJECTIVE: In advanced stages of diabetic retinopathy, new blood vessels are formed based on undefined mechanisms. Recently, leptin was shown to possess an angiogenic action in vitro and to induce neovascularization in vivo. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between plasma leptin levels and the severity of diabetic retinopathy. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: There were 70 patients with type 2 diabetes (age 47.9 +/- 9.7 years, BMI 26.4 +/- 3.3 kg/m2) who were seen in a retina outpatient clinic recruited and assigned to subgroups according to the stage of their diabetic retinopathy. There were 66 healthy volunteer subjects matched with the diabetic patients for age, BMI, and sex who served as control subjects (age 46.0 +/- 8.8 years, BMI 27.1 +/- 2.3 kg/m2). Fasting plasma leptin levels were measured. RESULTS: Plasma leptin level of the diabetic patients was not significantly different from the control subjects. In patients with proliferative diabetic retinop
