Origin and formation of early changes in the retina under the influence of atherosclerosis factors

Abstract

Lesions of the microcirculatory bed of the retina are an urgent problem due to their prevalence, severity of irreversible changes and their association with an unfavorable cardiovascular prognosis. Their pathogenesis is associated with endothelial dysfunction. Determining the processes of the formation and progression of retinopathy (RP) will bring closer the solution of problematic issues in ophthalmology and cardiology, and reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.Aim. To study the processes of formation and progression of retinopathy in the initial stages of mixed origin (hypertensive, diabetic, unspecified etiology).Material and methods. The origin and progression of I–II degree RP under the influence of predictors of this symptom has been revealed through statistical analysis using the data of the 2008–2013 prospective follow-up of 22 clinical indicators of a natural group of initially healthy 7.959 male workers of locomotive crews of the Trans-Baikal Railway aged 18–66 years. Multivariate stepwise analysis, a 2 × 2 confusion matrix, Cox and Kaplan-Meier proportional hazard models were used, and a relative risk was assessed.Results. Such predictors of grade I–II RP as arterial hypertension, I–III degree obesity, smoking, dyslipidemia, left ventricular hypertrophy, family history of early cardiovascular disease, hyperglycemia, aortic atherosclerosis, creatininemia, atherosclerotic plaque / intima-media complex thickening, microalbuminuria, type 2 diabetes mellitus and age showed statistical heterogeneity in mathematical models. The distinctive feature was the different mutually exclusive assessment of the predictors’ significance in the models used. Thus, the predictors of I–II degree RP showed their specific identification characteristics, defined in qualitative and quantitative dimensions, by which they could be found and studied in the cell as well as their damaging effect.Conclusions. The course of endothelial dysfunction varies significantly when influenced by RP predictors. Its manifestations are determined by the influence of a specific factor, a set of factors or by all predictors taken together and involved simultaneously. This shows the need to determine the qualitative and quantitative ultrastructural and biochemical specific markers of endothelial dysfunction of the microvasculature of the eye appearing under the influence of RP predictors during the formation and progression of this pathological symptom in order to restore the normal function of the endothelial cell and the affected organ as a whole, as long as there is still room for therapeutic efforts.