Presence of high-level VCAM-1 tied to severity of diabetic retinopathy: Study

To fill the knowledge gap, the research team aimed to clarify the relationship between VCAM-1 and diabetic retinopathy and provide an experimental basis for further developing new treatment strategies targeting VCAM-1.

For this purpose, the researchers screened the role of VCAM-1 in DR by database searching. A systematic retrieval was performed for studies reporting the relationship between VCAM-1 and DR. A total of 932 relevant articles were retrieved through a systematic search. Twenty studies comprising 1881 participants (684 healthy controls and 463 DR patients) were included for full-text examination.

The study led to the following findings:

• In the DR group, the VCAM-1 increased significantly compared with the control group (SMD: 0.67).
• VCAM-1 level correlated with sample size, DR type, method, and severity based on subgroup analysis.

"A high level of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 is present in patients with diabetic retinopathy and is related to the DR severity. Therefore, VCAM-1 is a potential detection biomarker for DR," the researchers wrote.

Reference:

The study titled "The role of VCAM-1 in diabetic retinopathy: A systematic review and meta-analysis" was published in the Journal of Diabetes and its Complications.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdiacomp.2022.108380