Effect of hyperbaric oxygen on ophthalmic artery blood velocity in patients with diabetic neuropathy

To assess the relationship between blood flow and the complications of diabetes mellitus, we investigated the changes in the velocity of blood flow in the ophthalmic artery before and after hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO), one of the treatments for diabetic neuropathy. Color Doppler imaging was used before and after HBO. Seven diabetic neuropathy patients, 3 diabetics without neuropathy, and 7 normal, control subjects were enrolled. The patients were subjected to breathing 100% oxygen at 2.0 atmosphere absolute (ATA) for 1 hour. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy resulted in an average decrease in blood velocity by 15.0 +/- 9.0% (mean +/- SD) in normal subjects and 10.7 +/- 8.6% in diabetics without neuropathy. Blood velocity returned to the baseline level 4 hours after discontinuation of HBO. In contrast, blood velocity increased by 20.6 +/- 9.5% in diabetic patients with neuropathy irregardless of the severity of the diabetic retinopathy. The resistance index of the ophthalmic artery was not changed during HBO in the group with diabetic neuropathy, indicating that other mechanisms may be implicated, leading to the compensatory changes of blood flow. These results suggest that the increase in the blood velocity in the ophthalmic artery after HBO in diabetic neuropathy patients could be attributed to an imbalance in autonomic nervous function.