Lieth E, Gardner T W, Barber A J, Antonetti D A
Department of Neuroscience and Anatomy, Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Penn State Geisinger Health System, Hershey 17033, USA.
Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2000 Feb;28(1):3-8. doi: 10.1046/j.1442-9071.2000.00222.x.
Normal vision depends on the normal function of retinal neurons, so vision loss in diabetes must ultimately be explained in terms of altered neuronal function. However to date relatively little attention has been paid to the impact of diabetes on the neural retina. Instead, the focus of most research has been primarily on retinal vascular changes, with the assumption that they cause altered neuronal function and consequently vision loss. An increasing body of evidence suggests that alterations in neuronal function and viability may contribute to the pathogenic mechanisms of diabetic retinopathy beginning shortly after the onset of diabetes. This view arises from neurophysiological, psychometric, histopathological and biochemical observations in humans and experimental animals. The collective evidence from past and recent studies supports the hypothesis that neurodegeneration, together with functional changes in the vasculature, is an important component of diabetic retinopathy. The authors invite other investigators to include the neural retina as a component of their studies so that the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy can be understood more clearly.
正常视力依赖于视网膜神经元的正常功能，因此糖尿病导致的视力丧失最终必须从神经元功能改变的角度来解释。然而，迄今为止，糖尿病对神经视网膜的影响相对较少受到关注。相反，大多数研究主要集中在视网膜血管变化上，假定这些变化会导致神经元功能改变，进而导致视力丧失。越来越多的证据表明，神经元功能和活力的改变可能在糖尿病发病后不久就开始促成糖尿病视网膜病变的发病机制。这一观点源于对人类和实验动物的神经生理学、心理测量学、组织病理学和生物化学观察。过去和近期研究的综合证据支持了这样一种假说，即神经退行性变以及血管系统的功能变化是糖尿病视网膜病变的一个重要组成部分。作者邀请其他研究人员将神经视网膜纳入其研究范围，以便更清楚地了解糖尿病视网膜病变的发病机制。
