Effect of insulin treatment on pulsatility ratio and resistance index of the retinal artery in patients with type 2 diabetes

PLoS One. 2021 Jul 20;16(7):e0254980. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254980. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate whether long-term insulin treatment is associated with abnormalities in retinal circulation in type 2 diabetic patients. We evaluated 19 eyes of nondiabetic individuals and 68 eyes of type 2 diabetic patients. The eyes of diabetic patients were classified into two groups according to the presence or absence of long-term insulin therapy. We used a Doppler optical coherence tomography flowmeter to measure diameter, velocity, and blood flow in the major temporal retinal artery. The pulsatility ratio (PR) and resistance index (RI), indices of vascular rigidity, were calculated from the blood velocity profile. PR and RI were significantly elevated in type 2 diabetic patients compared with nondiabetic subjects (P < 0.05). In type 2 diabetes patients, PR and RI were significantly higher in patients receiving long-term insulin treatment than in those without (P < 0.01). There was a significant difference in velocity (P < 0.05), but not diameter and blood flow, between nondiabetic subjects and type 2 diabetes patients. No significant difference in diameter, velocity, or blood flow was observed between the groups with and without long-term insulin treatment. Long-term insulin treatment can affect PR and RI, which might be associated with vascular rigidity of the retinal artery in patients with type 2 diabetes.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Blood Circulation / physiology
  • Blood Flow Velocity / drug effects
  • Blood Glucose
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / drug therapy
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / metabolism*
  • Eye / physiopathology
  • Female
  • Hemodynamics / drug effects
  • Humans
  • Insulin / metabolism*
  • Insulin / therapeutic use
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Regional Blood Flow / drug effects
  • Retinal Artery / drug effects*
  • Retinal Artery / metabolism
  • Tomography, Optical Coherence / methods
  • Vascular Resistance / drug effects
  • Vascular Resistance / physiology

Substances

  • Blood Glucose
  • Insulin

Grants and funding

The author(s) received no specific funding for this work.