The Relationship Between Lipoprotein(a) Level and The Severity of Diabetic Retinopathy

In the present study, the relationship between lipoprotein (at( Lp(a) levels and the severity of retinopathy was assessed in 56 patients with type II diabetes. According to the fundoscopic and flourescein angiographic findings, patients were classified as having no retinopathy (n=10), background diabetic retinopathy (DR) (n=15), preproliferative DR (n=14) and proliferative DR(n=14). Only patients with preprohfrrative DR were found to have significantly higher Lp(a) levels compared to the other groups (p<0.05). Contrary to our expectations, Lp (a) levels in patients with proliferative DR were not different from patients without retinopathy or bakcground DR. This discrepancy was attributed to strict diabetes control as evidenced by lower Hb Ale levels in the proliferative DR group. Our findings suggested that Lp(a) might be a risk factor in the development of proliferative DR, however, prospective studies on larger cohorts are warranted.