title: Pericyte Status in Routinely Discarded Vitrectomy Samples May Be an Early Marker of Diabetic Retinopathy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of blindness among the working-age population. The earliest morphological manifestation of the disease is pericyte loss, as shown by animal models.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to evaluate the presence of pericytes in vitreous samples (VS) from diabetic and nondiabetic patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  VS from 125 patients with and without diabetes were analyzed. Thirty-three of the VS contained blood vessels and were therefore included in further analysis. Pericyte status was evaluated using α-smooth muscle actin and quantified using the following scoring system: total loss (3), >50% loss (2), <50% loss (1), and no loss (0).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 33 VS, 29 samples were from patients with diabetes and 4 from nondiabetic patients. Six diabetic cases had a score of 1, 8 diabetic cases had a score of 2, and 15 cases had a score of 3. A positive correlation between glycemia levels and pericyte loss was observed (p = 0.0016; Spearman's r = 0.61). Moreover, all nondiabetic cases had a score of 0 (sensitivity and specificity = 100%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pericyte loss in VS might be a sensitive and specific marker of DR that correlates with glycemia levels. Furthermore, VS, which are currently discarded, may contain valuable information for diabetic management.
authors.affiliation: Henry C. Witelson Ocular Pathology Laboratory, McGill University, Montreal, Que., Canada.
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zoroquiain
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vila
authors.forename: Vasco
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bravo-Filho
authors.forename: Ana Beatriz T
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Dias
authors.forename: Debra M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Sanft
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Galic
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kapusta
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mastromonaco
authors.forename: Sultan S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Aldrees
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Burnier
authors.forename: Miguel N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Burnier
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D018450:Disease Progression; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020286:Pericytes / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D014821:Vitrectomy / Q000379:methods*; D014822:Vitreous Body / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult