Background: Prolactin (PRL) is expressed in anterior pituitary gland and throughout retina. The peptide vasoconstrictive antiangiogenic vasoinhibins are PRL-derived and inversely correlates the development of retinopathy. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between PRL level and development/progression of retinopathy in type 2 diabetic (T2DM) patients, and their relationship with changes in lipogram and glycemic control indices. Patients and Methods: This study included 62 male patients with T2DM on metformin and 45 male healthy subjects as a control group. Diabetic patients were divided into two main groups: diabetic group with retinopathy included 38 patients and diabetic group without retinopathy included 24 patients. Diabetic retinopathy patients were subdivided into non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy subgroup (NPDR) included 25 patients and proliferative diabetic retinopathy subgroup (PDR) included 13 patients. NPDR was further classified into mild (9 patients), moderate (8 patients) and severe (8 patients). Fasting blood samples were collected from all participants to recover plasma. Plasma PRL, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and blood HbA1c were measured. Results: There were non-significant differences in plasma PRL levels between diabetic patients with and without retinopathy and also between the two diabetic groups vs. healthy controls. There were non-significant differences in plasma PRL levels comparing mild, moderate and severe non-proliferative retinopathy patients vs. each other or vs. diabetic patients without retinopathy. There was a significant increase in HbA1c level in diabetic patients with retinopathy compared to those without retinopathy (p |
