Endocrine Abstracts

The GH/IGF axis has been implicated in the pathogenesis of retinopathy in diabetic subjects, the aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in hypersomatotropic patients.

Subjects and methods: Twenty four hypersomatotropic patients (12 females, 12 males mean age =49 years, mean hypersomatotropic duration =11 years) have diabetes for 7.25 years in average. To search for diabetic retinopathy a funduscopy was performed in all patients.

Results: Among the 24 patients, only four have retinopathy (prevalence =16.6%) at an early stage in all cases (background retinopathy). There is no correlation between the prevalence of retinopathy and GH levels or hypersomatotropic duration nor was a correlation with diabetes duration, in contrast there is a significative correlation with glycemic control.

Conclusion: We conclude from this study that in acromegalic diabetic patients only glycemic control has an effect on the occurrence of retinopathy and that growth hormone seems not to have a direct effect on retinopathy pathogenesis.