Reduced forearm reactive hyperaemia in normoalbuminuric subjects with Type 1 diabetes and retinopathy.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether the forearm vasodilatory response to reactive hyperaemia (RH) is reduced in normoalbuminuric subjects with Type 1 diabetes mellitus and retinopathy compared with subjects with no retinopathy.


METHODS
Forearm RH, an indicator of endothelial function, was measured, using strain-gauge plethysmography, in 39 normoalbuminuric subjects (22 with retinopathy) with long-standing Type 1 diabetes mellitus.


RESULTS
were evaluated in relation to conventional risk factors for atherosclerosis, and C-reactive protein (CRP), which we have recently determined to be an independent correlate of forearm RH.


RESULTS
Forearm RH was decreased in subjects with retinopathy compared with those with no retinopathy (219 +/- 182 vs. 473 +/- 355, P < 0.01). Both retinopathy and CRP proved to be independent and negative predictors, and explain 27% of the variance, in forearm RH.


CONCLUSIONS
Retinopathy in subjects with Type 1 diabetes mellitus may reflect a generalized process of endothelial dysfunction, even in the absence of microalbuminuria.
Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK. j.gibney@st-vincents.ie
J
J
Gibney
B
B
Turner
U
U
Weis
D R
DR
Meeking
J
J
Cansfield
G F
GF
Watts
K M
KM
Shaw
M H
MH
Cummings
D000367:Age Factors; D000419:Albuminuria / Q000097:blood*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000097:blood*; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005542:Forearm / Q000098:blood supply*; D006801:Humans; D006940:Hyperemia / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012737:Sex Factors