To determine aqueous cytokines association with macular edema after cataract surgery in patients with or without diabetic retinopathy (DR).
Undiluted aqueous humor samples were obtained from 64 patients with diabetes who underwent cataract surgery, among them 32 patients had a non-proliferative stage of diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) and 32 patients had no DR. A Bio-Plex multiplex assay system (Bio-Rad, Hercules, USA) was used to measure the concentrations of 6 human aqueous humor cytokines: interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-8, IL-10, monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1).
There was no significant difference in levels of IL-1β, IL-10, MCP-1 between groups. Levels of IL-8, VEGF, and ICAM-1 were significantly elevated in NPDR group (p = 0.009, p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). Meanwhile, the mean MCP-1, IL-8, VEGF and ICAM-1 concentrations of the ME (+) subgroup were higher than that of the ME (−) subgroup in both NPDR and no DR groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that MCP-1 was the only factor associated with ME after cataract surgery in patients without DR, whereas MCP-1, VEGF and ICAM-1 contributed to the development of ME in patients with NPDR.
The analysis of the aqueous humor may provide the basis for therapeutic approaches to the treatment of ME in patients with diabetes following uncomplicated phacoemulsification cataract surgery according to the presence or absence of DR.