van Reyk David M, Gillies Mark C, Davies Michael J
Department of Health Sciences, University of Technology, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Redox Rep. 2003;8(4):187-92. doi: 10.1179/135100003225002673.
A prominent and early feature of the retinopathy of diabetes mellitus is a diffuse increase in vascular permeability. As the disease develops, the development of frank macular oedema may result in vision loss. That reactive oxygen species production is likely to be elevated in the retina, and that certain regions of the retina are enriched in substrates for lipid peroxidation, may create an environment susceptible to oxidative damage. This may be more so in the diabetic retina, where hyperglycaemia may lead to elevated oxidant production by a number of mechanisms, including the production of oxidants by vascular endothelium and leukocytes. There is substantial evidence from animal and clinical studies for both impaired antioxidant defences and increased oxidative damage in the retinae of diabetic subjects that have been, in the case of animal studies, reversible with antioxidant supplementation. Whether oxidative damage has a causative role in the pathology of diabetic retinopathy, and thus whether antioxidants can prevent or correct any retinal damage, has not been established, nor has the specific nature of any damaging species been characterised.
糖尿病视网膜病变的一个突出且早期的特征是血管通透性普遍增加。随着疾病发展，明显的黄斑水肿的出现可能导致视力丧失。视网膜中活性氧的产生可能增加，并且视网膜的某些区域富含脂质过氧化的底物，这可能会营造一个易受氧化损伤的环境。在糖尿病视网膜中可能更是如此，高血糖可能通过多种机制导致氧化剂产生增加，包括血管内皮细胞和白细胞产生氧化剂。动物和临床研究有大量证据表明，糖尿病患者视网膜中的抗氧化防御受损且氧化损伤增加，在动物研究中，补充抗氧化剂后这种情况是可逆的。氧化损伤在糖尿病视网膜病变的病理过程中是否具有因果作用，以及抗氧化剂是否能够预防或纠正任何视网膜损伤，目前尚未明确，任何损伤性物质的具体性质也未得到明确界定。
