ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Med.
Sec. Ophthalmology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1553136
Correlation between Serum Autotaxin Levels and Optic Neuropathy in Early Diabetic Retinopathy: A Case-Control Study
Provisionally accepted
- 1Qingdao West Coast New District Central Hospital, Qingdao, China
- 2Huangdao Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China
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Objective:To investigate the correlation between serum autotaxin(ATX)levels and optic neuropathy in early diabetic retinopathy(DR).Methods:We enrolled 90 patients with early DR without optic neuropathy(NDN group)and 90 patients with early DR combined with optic neuropathy(DN group)from August 2022 to December 2023.Additionally,90 healthy individuals served as controls.We compared inflammatory markers(PLR,NLR,LMR,SIRI,PAR,CRP,TNF-α,IL-6),ATX,GFAP,and NfL levels among groups.Retinal OCT was performed to assess FAZ area,AI,RNFL thickness,mGCIPL thickness,and VD.Pearson analysis evaluated correlations between ATX and other parameters,while multivariate logistic regression identified risk factors for optic neuropathy.ROC analysis assessed the diagnostic value of ATX for optic neuropathy.Results:No significant differences were found in inflammatory markers between groups(P>0.05).However,ATX,GFAP,and NfL levels were significantly higher in the DN group compared to the NDN and healthy groups(P<0.05).The DN group also had lower mGCIPL and VD levels(P<0.001).Pearson analysis showed that ATX was positively correlated with GFAP and NfL(P<0.05),but negatively correlated with mGCIPL and VD(P<0.001).Multivariate logistic regression indicated that elevated ATX,GFAP,and NfL levels were independent risk factors for optic neuropathy in DR(P<0.05).ROC analysis revealed an AUC of 0.873 for ATX in diagnosing optic neuropathy,with a sensitivity of 71.11%and specificity of 93.33%at a cut-off of 4.69 ng/mL.Conclusion:Elevated serum ATX levels are associated with optic neuropathy in early DR and correlate with early neurovascular changes.Measuring ATX may aid in early diagnosis and provide new therapeutic insights for optic neuropathy in DR.
Keywords: serum autotaxin levels, early stage, Diabetic Retinopathy, optic neuropathy, Correlation
Received: 30 Dec 2024; Accepted: 06 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Chen, Wang, Guo, Yu and Zhao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Wen Zhao, Huangdao Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China
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