Assessment and Significance of RBC-Sorbitol Level on Diabetic Retinopathy.

Ji, Jun Young; Lee, Jong Hong; Chang, Moo Hwan

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Ophthalmological Society 1998;39(1):98-103.
Published online January 1, 1998.

Assessment and Significance of RBC-Sorbitol Level on Diabetic Retinopathy.

Jun Young Ji, Jong Hong Lee, Moo Hwan Chang

Department of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, Dankook Univeristy, Chunan, Korea.

당뇨망막병증에서의 적혈구내 sorbitol 의 의의 및 비교연구

지준영(Jun Young Ji),이종훈(Jong Hong Lee),장무환(Moo Hwan Chang)

Abstract

The intracellular accumulation of sorbitol, a product, which arises from polyol pathway: one of glucose metabolic pathways, has been said to be one of the pathogens for diabetic retinopathy. So, to obtain fundamental data regarding the time of administratin as well as the dosage of aldose reductase inhibitor(ARI) which inhibits the formation of sorbitol, we examined the interrelationship between RBC-sorbitol and glucose, HbAlc, and the association of RBC-Sorbitol with the severity of diabetic retinopathy in fifty NIDDM patients(20 No diabetic retinopathy, 10 mild NPDR, 10 sever NPDR, 10 PDR). In results, there was no association between RBC-sorbitol and glucose(r=0.172), between RBC-sorbitol and HbAlC(r=0.262), also there was no discernible RBC-Sorbitol level in each degree of diabetic retinopathic severity (F`=0.67, p>0.05), and wide variation of RBC-sorbitol level in each diabetic patients. Thus, for the progression of diabetic retinopathy, the duration time of high sorbitol level was predicted to be of more important value than the sorbitol level at the time of diagnosis. Therefore, we have shown through the research that ARI needs to be administered early on when RBC-Sorbitol level is higher than normal and in terms of ARI dosage, administering differenct ARI dosage according to different sorbitol level of each patient will be more effective for prevention and treatment of diabetic retinopathy.

Key Words: Diabetic retinopathy;Polyol pathway;RBC-sorbitol;Al-dose reductase inhibior