Ninety-four diabetic patients, asymptomatic for cerebrovascular disease, stratified according to the presence of proliferative retinopathy (PDR), background retinopathy (BDR) and no diabetic retinopathy (NDR) underwent transcranial Doppler evaluation. Impairment in neither blood flow velocity and pulsatility index recorded at the ophthalmic and intracranial arteries, nor in the vasodilatory response to a breath-holding test was found in patients, when compared to age-matched controls. The subgroup analysis showed that PDR patients had significantly higher pulsatility index and lower cerebrovascular reactivity values than BDR and NDR patients. Such a difference was not just due to age or disease duration, being greatest in patients under the sixties. In asymptomatic diabetic patients, PDR may be a predictor of early cerebral vessel involvement and should lead to investigate brain hemodynamics by screening procedures.

Keywords:
Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, Transcranial Doppler ultrasound, Cerebral vasomotor reserve, Retinopathy
This content is only available via PDF.
© 1997 S. Karger AG, Basel
1997
Copyright / Drug Dosage / Disclaimer
Copyright: All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated into other languages, reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, microcopying, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Drug Dosage: The authors and the publisher have exerted every effort to ensure that drug selection and dosage set forth in this text are in accord with current recommendations and practice at the time of publication. However, in view of ongoing research, changes in government regulations, and the constant flow of information relating to drug therapy and drug reactions, the reader is urged to check the package insert for each drug for any changes in indications and dosage and for added warnings and precautions. This is particularly important when the recommended agent is a new and/or infrequently employed drug.
Disclaimer: The statements, opinions and data contained in this publication are solely those of the individual authors and contributors and not of the publishers and the editor(s). The appearance of advertisements or/and product references in the publication is not a warranty, endorsement, or approval of the products or services advertised or of their effectiveness, quality or safety. The publisher and the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to persons or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content or advertisements.
You do not currently have access to this content.