Lipemic diabetic retinopathy.

A study group of eight patients with diabetic retinopathy and marked accumulation of hard exudates in the fundi is described. There was a significant increase in serum triglyceride levels (P less than 0.05) in the study group as compared to a control group of 23 consecutive patients with diabetic retinopathy. This exudative disorder is visually disabling and is associated with legal blindness in 50% of eyes. The authors believe that the term most appropriate to describe such a severe type of exudative response is lipemic diabetic retinopathy.