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Diabetic nephropathy with and without retinopathy: comparison between urine and serum vascular endothelial growth factor

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International Journal of Diabetes in Developing Countries Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Aim

To evaluate vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels in serum and urine among diabetic nephropathy (DN) patients with and without diabetic retinopathy (DR).

Methods

This is a cross-sectional study involving stage 3 and 4 DN patients. A fundus examination was done to determine the DR status. VEGF levels were measured using VEGF-A ELISA kits. Serum creatinine, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and urine protein creatinine index (UPCI) were analyzed per laboratory protocol. Clinical data collected includes height, weight, visual acuity, fundus photo, and macula thickness measured by the optical coherence tomography.

Results

Seventy-nine patients were divided into group 1: DN with no DR (n = 45.57%) and group 2: DN with DR (n = 34.43%). The two groups were equally distributed in age, gender, ethnicity, duration of diabetes, and smoking status. Mean serum VEGF (244.9 pg/mL), urine VEGF (230.4 pg/mL), and HbA1c (7.6%) were significantly higher in group 2. Mean serum to urine VEGF ratios were 0.72 in group 1 and 1.06 in group 2. Poorer renal function was seen in group 2, although the UPCI was not significantly different. There was no significant correlation between serum and urine VEGF levels and between serum VEGF and other parameters.

Conclusion

The occurrence of DR in patients with DN is associated with higher mean serum than urine VEGF levels, as compared to lower serum to urine ratio of VEGF levels in DN patients without DR.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Code availability

Not applicable.

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Acknowledgment

The authors thank Dr. Hazlita Mohd Isa for the study ideation and Prof. Suzana Makpol together with her lab technicians for providing the lab facilities and support in running the specimens.

Funding

This work was supported by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (grant numbers: FF-2016-337).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latif, 56000, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Hanisah Abdul Hamid, Meng Hsien Yong & Norshamsiah Md Din

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Wei Yen Kong

  3. Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Norwahidah Abdul Karim

  4. Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

    Norfilza Mohd Mokhtar

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  1. Hanisah Abdul Hamid
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  3. Norwahidah Abdul Karim
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  4. Meng Hsien Yong
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Contributions

Conceptualization: Norshamsiah Md Din; data curation: Hanisah Abdul Hamid; investigation: Norwahidah Abdul Karim; methodology: Wei Yen Kong; project administration: Hanisah Abdul Hamid; resource: Norwahidah Abdul Karim, Wei Yen Kong; supervision: Norfilza Mohd Mokhtar, Norwahidah Abdul Karim, Wei Yen Kong; writing-original draft: Hanisah Abdul Hamid; writing-review and editing: Meng Hsien Yong, Norshamsiah Md Din.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Norshamsiah Md Din.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

Ethical approval was obtained from the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Research and Ethics Committee (Ethical approval code: FF-2016-337). This study adhered to the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki and the Malaysian Guidelines for Good Clinical Practice (GCP).

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A signed written informed consent was obtained from all patients prior to enrolment.

Consent for publication

Upon signing off informed consent prior to enrolment, the patient is aware that the data gathered will be used for publication purposes.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Hamid, H.A., Kong, W.Y., Karim, N.A. et al. Diabetic nephropathy with and without retinopathy: comparison between urine and serum vascular endothelial growth factor. Int J Diabetes Dev Ctries 42, 108–115 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13410-021-00958-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13410-021-00958-0

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