title: Assessment of Conjunctival Microvascular Hemodynamics in Stages of Diabetic Microvasculopathy.
abstract: Diabetes impairs the microcirculation and function of various vital tissues throughout the body. The conjunctival microcirculation can be non-invasively imaged and thus enables assessment of microvascular hemodynamics. In this study, alterations in conjunctival microvascular hemodynamics were quantitatively assessed at stages of increasing diabetic microvasculopathy based on diabetic retinopathy (DR). Subjects were categorized into non-diabetic control (C, N = 34), no clinically visible DR (NDR, N = 47), non-proliferative DR (NPDR, N = 45), and proliferative DR (PDR, N = 35). Conjunctival hemodynamic descriptors, namely vessel diameter (D), blood velocity (V), blood flow (Q), wall shear rate (WSR), and wall shear stress (WSS) were measured in arterioles and venules, and compared between DR and C subjects using generalized linear mixed models. In arterioles, V, WSR, and WSS were lower in NDR (P ≤ 0.01). V was lower in NDR than NPDR and PDR subjects (P ≤ 0.02). In venules, D was higher in NDR and NPDR (P ≤ 0.03), while V was lower in PDR (P = 0.04). Venular V and Q were higher in NPDR than PDR subjects (P ≤ 0.04). WSR and WSS were lower in all stages of DR (P ≤ 0.05), suggestive of the potential of WSS as a marker of diabetic microvasculopathy. Quantitative assessment of conjunctival hemodynamics can potentially be useful for evaluation of diabetic microvasculopathy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.|Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60607, USA.
authors.forename: Maziyar M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Khansari
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wanek
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.|Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.|Population Health, Behavior and Outcomes Program, University of Illinois Cancer Center, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
authors.forename: Charlotte E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Joslin
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
authors.forename: Jacob K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Kresovich
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Camardo
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA.
authors.forename: Norman P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Blair
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
authors.forename: Mahnaz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shahidi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001160:Arterioles / Q000503:physiopathology; D003228:Conjunctiva / Q000098:blood supply*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000503:physiopathology; D003925:Diabetic Angiopathies / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008833:Microcirculation; D008875:Middle Aged; D014699:Venules / Q000503:physiopathology; D055815:Young Adult