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Elevated Vitreous Nitric Oxide Levels inPatients With Proliferative Diabetic

Retinopathy

GU RSEL YILMAZ, MD, PETER ESSER, MD, NORBERT KOCIEK, PHD,

PINAR AYDIN, MD, PHD, AND KLAUS HEIMANN, MD

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determinenitric oxide levels in the vitreous of patients with prolif-erative diabetic retinopathy.

METHODS: Using the spectrophotometric methodbased on Griess reaction, we measured levels of nitrite,the stable product of nitric oxide, in the vitreous of 21

eyes of 21 patients who underwent vitrectomy for thetreatment of proliferative diabetic retinopathy with trac-

tional retinal detachment, prospectively. Three sampleswere excluded from the study because of blood contam-ination. The control group was made up of vitreous

samples from 15 eyes of 15 normal cadavers and five eyesof five patients who were undergoing vitrectomy formacular hole surgery. RESULTS: Nitrite levels were 0.524 0.27 M and

0.383 0.17 M in the vitreous of patients withproliferative diabetic retinopathy of diabetes type I and

type II, respectively. In 15 cadaver eyes and five vitreoussamples from patients who underwent macular holesurgery, nitrite levels were below the detection limit (less

than 0.08 M). There was no significant differencebetween nitrite levels in patients with type I and type IIdiabetes (P .56), whereas there was a significant

difference between diabetes groups and controls (P