Aqueous humour concentrations of TGF‐β, PLGF and FGF‐1 and total retinal blood flow in patients with early non‐proliferative diabetic retinopathy

Purpose To correlate angiogenic cytokines in the aqueous humour with total retinal blood flow in subjects with type 2 diabetes with non‐proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR). Methods A total of 17 controls and 16 NPDR patients were recruited into the study. Aqueous humour was collected at the start of cataract surgery to assess the concentration of 14 angiogenic cytokines. Aqueous humour was analysed using the suspension array method. Six images were acquired to assess total retinal blood flow (TRBF) using the prototype RTVue™ Doppler Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (Doppler FD‐OCT) (Optovue, Inc., Fremont, CA) using a double circular scan protocol, 1 month postsurgery. At the same visit, forearm blood was collected to determine glycosylated haemoglobin (A1c). Results Transforming growth factor beta (TGF‐β1, TGF‐β2) and PLGF were increased while FGF‐1 was reduced in NPDR compared to controls (Bonferroni corrected, p