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The following is a summary of “TNFα and IL-8 vitreous concentrations variations with two antidiabetic therapies in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy: an observational study,” published in the September 2024 issue of Ophthalmology by Morales-Lopez et al.

Antidiabetic treatments work well but might also impact inflammation in the eye. Researchers wanted to see how these drugs affect the levels of inflammatory cytokines in the eyes of patients with diabetes and retinopathy. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study evaluating the inflammatory cytokine profile in the vitreous humor of patients with diabetes on antidiabetic medication. 

They conducted an observational, retrospective study measuring interleukins 1β, 6, 8, 10, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα) in the vitreous humor of patients with type 2 diabetes, proliferative retinopathy, and retinal detachment, or hemorrhage. Cytokines were analyzed via cytometric bead array (CBA), and results were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test (P<0.05). 

The results showed that 38 samples were analyzed. TNFα levels were higher in patients treated with insulin, while interleukin-8 was lower. In the metformin + glibenclamide group, the reverse occurred. The highest interleukin-8 and TNFα levels were found in patients with vitreous hemorrhage, though statistical significance was seen only in patients with retinal detachment, with the lowest TNFα levels in the combined therapy group (53.50 (33.03-86.66), P=0.03). Interleukins 1β, 6, and 10 were undetected. 

Investigators concluded that interleukin-8 and TNFα levels differed between treatment groups, with more pronounced changes in patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy and vitreous hemorrhage. Although both cytokines were elevated, only TNFα showed a statistically significant difference.

Source: bmcophthalmol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12886-024-03659-4