August 21, 2003
Retinopathy in patients with diabetic ophthalmoplegia
Ophthalmology, Aug, 2003
Diabetic ophthalmoplegia most commonly involves CN 3 and 6, with relative sparing of CN 4. Multiple cranial nerves are affected simultaneously in 2.6% of cases, and consecutive palsies occurred in 3.9% of cases. Type II diabetics with ocular motor CN palsy have significantly less diabetic retinopathy than do controls. This may imply a different pathophysiologic mechanism for these two microvascular complications of DM.
A final conceivable explanation for our findings is that ocular motor CN paresis imparts a protective effect against retinopathy (or is a marker for some protective effect) via an as yet undiscovered process at the genetic or cellular level.
Posted by pakravanmd at August 21, 2003 09:05 AM