[Lipoprotein (a) and sclerotic changes in retinal arterioles].

Lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)) has been considered an independent risk factor for arteriosclerotic disease and its role in retinal vascular changes was studied in this report. The study was made on 160 patients of age 54 and above. They were divided into four groups depending upon their clinical background with or without the presence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and cerebral infarction (CI). The retinal vascular status of the patients was studied by ophthalmoscopic examination and the findings were graded according to Scheie's classification. We found that all the patients with retinal arterial hypertension and arteriosclerosis had a significant by high level of serum Lp (a). Similarly, serum Lp (a) level was higher in the patients with DM and CI than in the control subjects. These findings suggested that Lp (a) might influence the pathological changes of senile retinal arterioles. Moreover, we found a positive linear correlation between Lp (a) and plasminogen in patients with CI.