Early retinal vascular signs in hyperlipoproteinaemia.

A total of 23 hyperlipoproteinaemic patients between 24 and 46 years of age were subjected to fluorescein retinography. Early microangiopathy was demonstrated in 12 cases. In 3 of these, the oral glucose tolerance test was normal and the family history of diabetes was negative. It is suggested that hyperlipoproteinaemia, mainly hypertriglyceridaemia, constitutes one of the factors accounting for the microangiopathy. The frequency of angiopathy was particularly high in the group marked by a family history of diabetes with a normal glucose tolerance test.