title: Quantitative determination of glycosaminoglycans in tears of diabetic patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the amount of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in tears of patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR) and to compare it with normal subjects.
  
  
  METHODS
  38 patients with DR and 24 normal volunteers were included. Thirty subjects suffered from background diabetic retinopathy (BDR) and 8 from proliferate diabetic retinopathy (PDR). For the GAGs assay, the uronic carbazole reaction was used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean concentration of GAGs was significantly higher in patients with DR than in normal subjects. The GAGs concentration in patients with BDR or PDR was significantly higher than in normal subjects.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The measurement of GAGs in tears of diabetic patients could be a tool in order to assess the stability or not of the disease.
authors: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Athens, Greece. moschosmarilita@yahoo.fr
authors: Marilita M
authors: MM
authors: Moschos
authors: Alexandros A
authors: AA
authors: Rouvas
authors: Spyridon
authors: S
authors: Papadimitriou
authors: Athanasios
authors: A
authors: Kotsolis
authors: Nikolaos
authors: N
authors: Sitaras
authors: Michael
authors: M
authors: Apostolopoulos