EPOS
European Paediatric Ophthalmological Society
Abstract Preview
16 Insulin-like growth factor I is critical to retinopathy of prematurity
Hellström, A.1, Hård, A.L.1, Engström, E:2,
Niklasson, A.2, Albertsson-Wikland, K.2, Smith,
S.3
1Pediatric Ophthalmology, 2Department
of Clinical Neuroscience, International Pediatric Growth Research
Center, The Queen Silvia Children's Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden, 3Department
of Ophthalmology, Children's, Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston
MA USA.
Purpose: As experimental studies have indicated that IGF-I plays an important role in the development of retinopathy, we wanted to investigate the relationship between longitudinal serum levels of IGF-I and retinopathy of prematurity.
Methods: and patients: Children without obvious malformations and chromosomal aberrations, born at The Queen Silvia Children's Hospital in Göteborg between December 1999 and January 2001 with a gestational age (GA) at birth <32 weeks were invited to participate in the present study. Fort-one children (median GA at birth 28 weeks, range 24-32 weeks) were included. Blood-samples were taken once/week from birth to discharge from hospital. Total IGF-I was analyzed by a IGFBP-blocked RIA. Examinations for retinopathy were routinely performed weekly according to a specific protocol.
Results: The mean duration of time from birth to IGF-1 reaching 30ng/ml was 20 days in infants who did not develop ROP (n=26) compared to 56 days for those that developed ROP stage 2-3 (n=15), (P<0.001). The median IGF-1 level at the same gestational age was consistently lower in infants who developed ROP than those who did not develop ROP with a difference at 34 weeks of 26 ng/ml (ROP 2-3) versus 43ng/ml (without ROP) P<0.001). At 33 gestational weeks 2 of 15 children with ROP had IGF-I values > 30 ng/ml, while 23 of 26 children without ROP had values above 30 ng/ml. Preterm children in the present study with IGF-I<30ng/ml at 33 weeks of gestation had a relative risk of 6.9 to have ROP stage 2-3.
Conclusion: The present study suggests that serum IGF-I is critical to retinopathy of prematurity as we found abnormal serum IGF-I levels among the children who developed retinopathy of prematurity.