IOVS
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

(Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science. 2003;44:1486-1491.)
© 2003 by The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc.
DOI:  10.1167/iovs.02-0293
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Loukovaara, S.
Right arrow Articles by Immonen, I.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Loukovaara, S.
Right arrow Articles by Immonen, I.

Retinal Capillary Blood Flow in Diabetic and Nondiabetic Women during Pregnancy and Postpartum Period

Sirpa Loukovaara,1 Mika Harju,1 Risto Kaaja,2 and Ilkka Immonen1

1From the Departments of Ophthalmology and 2Obstetrics and Gynecology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki, Finland.

PURPOSE. To evaluate the response of retinal capillary circulation to pregnancy in women with diabetes and to correlate microcirculatory changes with progression of retinopathy during pregnancy.

METHODS. A prospective follow-up study of 32 pregnant women with insulin-dependent diabetes and 11 nondiabetic pregnant women. Perimacular capillary blood flow measured noninvasively by retinal flowmetry in the inferior perimacular retina. Eleven nonpregnant diabetic women served as diabetic control subjects.

RESULTS. In diabetic women, blood flows, measured by small-box analysis, were 233 ± 69 (mean ± SD) arbitrary units (AU) during the first trimester, 248 ± 55 AU during the third trimester, and 238 ± 46 AU 3 months postpartum, compared with 204 ± 32, 195 ± 22, and 196 ± 34 AU in nondiabetic pregnant women (P = 0.007 between groups). A difference of the same magnitude was evident between the two groups when the mean of the 50th (P = 0.032), 75th (P = 0.004), and 90th (P = 0.007) percentiles of the individual pixel flow values were used in point-wise analysis. In nonpregnant diabetic women, the small-box mean value was 201 ± 36, and the mean of the 75th percentile value in point-wise analysis was 316 ± 49. Blood flow was lower in nonpregnant than in pregnant diabetic women during the third trimester (P = 0.023 and P = 0.012, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS. Compared with nondiabetic pregnant women, retinal capillary blood flow was higher in diabetic women during pregnancy and after delivery. Together with the hormonal and metabolic changes occurring during pregnancy, hyperdynamic retinal capillary circulation may contribute to the progression of retinopathy in pregnant diabetic women.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 IOVSHome page
M. Larsen, L. B. Colmorn, M. Bonnelycke, R. Kaaja, I. Immonen, B. Sander, and S. Loukovaara
Retinal Artery and Vein Diameters during Pregnancy in Diabetic Women
Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci., February 1, 2005; 46(2): 709 - 713.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2003 by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology