Study of the role of IGF-I in the breakdown of the blood-retinal barrier

• Autores: Virginia Haurigot Mendonça
• Directores de la Tesis: Fàtima Bosch i Tubert (dir. tes.), Assumpció Bosc Merino (codir. tes.)
• Lectura: En la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona ( España ) en 2007
• Idioma: español
• Tribunal Calificador de la Tesis: Xavier Parés Casasampera (presid.), Ana Carretero i Romay (secret.), Francesco Beguinot (voc.), Enrique de la Rosa Cano (voc.), Rafael Simó Canonge (voc.)
• Materias:
  • Ciencias médicas
    • Ciencias clínicas
      • Patología clínica
      • Oftalmología
    • Patología
      • Neuropatología
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• Resumen

  • Diabetes mellitus is the most common metabolic disease in humans. It includes a variety of conditions, of different aetiology, that collectively affect 2-7% of the world's population. All forms of diabetes are characterised by chronic hyperglycaemia and the development of vascular and neuropathic complications which are the major causes of morbidity and mortality associated with the disease. Retinopathy is the most prevalent of the ocular pathologies associated with diabetes, and is a major cause of loss of vision and blindness. Given the increasing numbers of people worldwide affected by diabetes, the number of diabetics at risk of losing their vision due to diabetic retinopathy is expected to increase. The invasive, and merely palliative, nature of currently available treatments makes it necessary to develop new therapeutic approaches to the disease. This, in turn, requires a better understanding of the complex combination of factors that lead to the development of diabetic retinopathy.

    The Insulin-like Growth Factor I (IGF-I) has been proposed to play an important role in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy. However, the relative contribution of local versus serum IGF-I to the different aspects of the disease is still controversial. A transgenic mouse model which overexpresses IGF-I in the eye develops retinal alterations characteristic of the non-proliferative stage of human diabetic retinopathy, such as loss of pericytes and thickening of the basal membrane. With age, mice develop alterations characteristic of the proliferative stage. Therefore, this transgenic mouse constitutes a good animal model to study the contribution of intraocular IGF-I to the onset and the progression of the different manifestations of diabetic retinopathy.

    The blood-retinal barrier (BRB) breakdown is an important feature of diabetic retinopathy. It can lead to retinal oedema and is a major cause of loss of visual acuity and blindness, not only in diabetes but also in other ocu