Ischemia modified albumin as a useful marker for diagnoses and management of diabetic retinopathy

Objectives: Ischemia modified albumin (IMA) may aid in the early detection and management of diabetic retinopathy (DR). In this study, we examined the relationship between IMA and DR, and the effect of intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) on IMA levels in patients with DR.

Methods: This Quasi-experimental study was conducted from March-December 2018 at a Al-Ibrahim Eye Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. Adult patients (age ≥ 18 year) with Type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) presenting to the Diabetic Clinic were categorized as control (Group-A n=30: DM without DR) or case (Group-B n=59: DM with DR). Patients in Group-B received an intravitreal injection of bevacizumab (anti-VEGF). Visual acuity, retinoscopy and serum IMA were recorded at baseline and at a 30-day follow-up for both groups.

Results: A significant drop in IMA levels was seen one month after bevacizumab (IMA baseline: 1590.82±121.22 and follow up: 940.8±91.26; p<0.01) in Group-B subjects. Visual acuity (VA) of patient in Group-B also improved one month after bevacizumab injection in both eyes (p<0.001). Whereas, the IMA levels in Group-A showed an upward rising trend after one month (baseline 448.80±22.4ng/ml and follow up 522.21±33.15 ng/ml; p>0.05) indicating disease progression.

Conclusion: Ischemia modified albumin may be used as an effective and novel screening biomarker for assessing oxidative stress associated with DR, and to quantify response to and prognosis after intravitreal bevacizumab injection for DR.