gastrins and Diabetic-Retinopathy

Somatostatin, under physiological conditions, is a regulator of thyroid stimulating hormone, growth hormone, pancreatic islet-cell hormones and gastrin. In pharmacological dosage, gastric acid output, splanchnic blood flow and plasma renin levels, are influenced. A possible therapeutic effect on increased growth hormone secretion, disturbances of carbohydrate metabolism, gastroenteropathies and renal hypertension, is discussed. The clinical application is limited by the short biological half-life of the substance and the unspecific action on several organs.

Topics: Acromegaly; Animals; Diabetes Mellitus; Diabetic Retinopathy; Gastric Juice; Gastrins; Growth Hormone; Humans; Hypertension; Islets of Langerhans; Pancreatitis; Renin; Somatostatin; Thyrotropin; Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome

Relationship of the lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] concentration as a risk factor independent of other factors with the severity of diabetic retinopathy were evaluated by multiple regression analysis. The subjects were 158 patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Multiple regression analysis was carried with the severity of diabetic retinopathy as the dependent variable and 13 independent variables, namely the Lp(a) concentration, sex, age, body mass index, duration of diabetes, ischemic heart disease, fasting plasma glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin A1c, total cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, anti-diabetic treatments, and diabetic nephropathy. The analysis was performed separately in all subjects, males only, and females only. The standard partial regression coefficient of Lp(a) was significant (0.293, p < 0.01), and the multiple correlation coefficient was 0.611 in the males. However, the standard partial correlation coefficient of Lp(a) was not significant in all patients and in females only. The rank of contribution of Lp(a) to retinopathy was the third in males, following triglyceride and nephropathy and followed by anti-diabetic treatments. These results suggest that Lp(a) might be an independent risk factor for diabetic retinopathy in male patients with NIDDM.

Topics: Aged; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; Diabetic Retinopathy; Female; Gastrins; Humans; Lipoprotein(a); Male; Middle Aged; Regression Analysis; Risk Factors; Sex Characteristics