relation between the serum level of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and grade of retinopathy in Egyptian type 2 diabetic patients

Diabetes mellitus causes metabolic and physiological abnormalities in the retina suggestive the role of inflammation in the development of diabetic retinopathy. Tumor necrosis factor [TNF]-alpha is a pleiotropic cytokine implicated for early inflammatory changes seen in the diabetic retina. A strong correlation between the serum levels of TNF-o and the severity of diabetic retinopathy has been described. The aim of this study is to estimate the serum levels of TNF-o in Egyptian type 2 diabetic patients with different grades of retinopathy and correlating these levels to the grade of retinopathy. Eighty subjects participated in the study and they were classified into four groups; group [A] with type 2 diabetes but no retinopathy, group [B] with non proliferative type 2 diabetic retinopathy, group [C] with proliferative type 2 diabetic retinopathy and group [D] which was a control group of subjects matched for age and sex with the other groups. The study revealed a progressive elevation of serum TNF-alpha in e 2 diabetic patients according to the progression of retinopathy and that the serum levels of TNF-alpha were significantly correlated with the grade of retinopathy which was also significantly correlated with age and duration of diabetes but not with sex. A common feature of a number of new therapies for diabetic retinopathy is inhibition of the production of inflammatory mediators

relation between the serum hepatocyte growth factor and carotid atherosclerosis in Egyptian patients with essential hypertension

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the serum hepatocyte growth factor [HGF] and carotid intima media thickness [IMT] in Egyptian hypertensive and non-hypertensive subjects. The study revealed a highly significant increase in serum HGF and IMT in hypertensive patients compared with non-hypertensive subjects. There was a significant positive correlation between the carotid IMT and the mean duration of hypertension, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, smoking, age, sex, serum total cholesterol, serum triglycerides, serum low density lipoprotein and serum HGF, with significant negative correlation with serum high density lipoprotein in hypertensive patients. In hypertensive patients, there was a significant positive correlation between serum HGF and age, sex, mean duration of hypertension, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, smoking, serum total cholesterol, serum triglycerides, serum low density lipoprotein and IMT, with a significant negative correlation with serum high density lipoprotein. Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors are recommended to be used in the treatment of hypertension as they improve endothelial dysfunction by stimulating the local production of hepatocyte growth factor leading to inhibition of neointimal formation