Abstract
Aim: The fluorophotometric evaluation of the blood-retinal barrier (BRB) integrity in patients with essential hypertension (EH) without signs of BRB damage. Material and Methods: 55 subjects participated in the study: 36 patients with EH and 19 normotensive healthy volunteers; 22 men and 33 women. The protocol included ophthalmic examination, fluorescein angiography, fluorophotometry, laboratory tests (total cholesterol, LDL and HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, fibrinogen, serum creatinine concentration, fasting glucose concentration, oral glucose test), urinary cotinine concentration measurement and cotinine-creatinine ratio (CCR) calculation. Results: BRB permeability (P<sub>BRB</sub>) in patients with EH was significantly higher than in the control group (2.24 ± 0.68 vs. 1.64 ± 0.64 nm/s; p = 0.003). In hypertensive patients with CCR >50 ng/mg, the P<sub>BRB</sub> was significantly higher than the P<sub>BRB</sub> in healthy volunteers not exposed to smoke (2.32 vs. 1.68 nm/s; p < 0.05). Conclusions: The P<sub>BRB</sub> in patients with EH is significantly higher than that in the normotensive control group, which shows the damaging effect of EH on the BRB.
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