Researchers from the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF) in India have found young onset type 2 diabetes patients are at an increased risk of developing diabetic retinopathy (DR) at an earlier stage and greater frequency due to elevated levels of certain biomarkers, such as monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1) and cathepsin-D.
According to researchers, the MDRF study found a greater prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in about 52 percent of diabetic patients diagnosed with early onset of the disease. Investigators reportedly found the two biomarkers, MCP-1 and cathepsin-D, progressively increased in diabetic patients with both non-proliferative and proliferative retinal disease, and correlation analysis revealed a positive association between MCP-1 and cathepsin-D levels. Additionally, researchers found a significant negative correlation of MCP1/cathepsin-D with C-peptide levels, implying certain level of early beta-cell dysfunction in these patients.
The study was recently published in the Journal of Diabetes and Its Complications.
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Source: Madras Diabetes Research Foundation