Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, Vol 17, Issue 11 675-681, Copyright © 1998 by American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
Ocular arterial flow hemodynamics in patients with diabetes mellitus
T. Arai, K. Numata, K. Tanaka, T. Kiba, S. Kawasaki, T. Saito, S. Satoh and H. Sekihara
Third Department of Internal Medicine, Yokohama City University School of Medicine, Japan.
The purpose of this study was to investigate ocular blood flow hemodynamics
in patients with diabetes mellitus. We used color Doppler sonography, in 22
normal subjects and 52 patients with (n = 25) or without (n = 27) diabetic
retinopathy, to determine blood flow velocities and the resistive index of
the central retinal artery. The resistive index of the central retinal
artery in patients with diabetic retinopathy (0.85 +/- 0.09) was
significantly greater (P < 0.01) than that in normal subjects (0.72 +/-
0.08) and in patients without diabetic retinopathy (0.81 +/- 0.09). The
resistive index of the central retinal artery in the patients without
diabetic retinopathy was also significantly greater than that of normal
subjects (P < 0.01). The resistive index of ocular arterial flow was
increased in the patients with diabetes mellitus and further increased in
the presence of retinopathy. Increased resistance in the peripheral ocular
vascular bed contributes to diabetic retinopathy, and this change is
present before the appearance of overt diabetic retinopathy.
