title: Proliferative diabetic retinopathy in patients with defects of platelet function.
abstract: A 71-year-old woman had von Willebrand's disease, an inheritable abnormality of platelet activity, and developed diabetic retinal neovascularization. A 59-year-old man had a myeoloproliferative disorder with thrombocythemia but may have had retinal changes before the development of his platelet dysfunction. The occurrence of diabetic proliferative retinopathy in patients with reduced platelet activity suggests that platelet induced microcirculatory abnormalities may not be required for neovascularization.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001772:Blood Cell Count; D001780:Blood Coagulation Tests; D001792:Blood Platelets; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications*; D005169:Factor VIII / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010973:Platelet Adhesiveness; D010974:Platelet Aggregation; D013920:Thrombocythemia, Essential / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D014842:von Willebrand Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis
chemical_list: D005169:Factor VIII