Venous pressure increases induced macular edema in patients with diabetes
A modest increase in venous pressure induced macular edema because of an underlying abnormal vascular vulnerability induced by diabetes, according to a study.
Michael Larsen at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark reviewed fundus photos and fluorescein angiograms of 226 patients with diabetes who received photocoagulation treatment for macular edema.
Strictly unilateral macular edema was identified in five patients with nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy. Three patients had leakage confined to a single venous drainage unit. Affected eyes had more frequent and more severe crossing signs involving drainage than fellow eyes. No patient had branch retinal vein occlusion, and no patient developed such occlusion during 5 years of follow-up.
The study is published in the August issue of Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica.