Background: Recent studies have shown that pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PEX) is not limited to the anterior segment of the eye, but also affects different structures, such as blood vessels, heart, liver and lungs. Vascular endothelial dysfunction is associated with an increased cardiovascular risk. The purpose of our study was to evaluate endothelial function of the brachial artery in patients with PEX.
Patients/materials and methods: We prospectively examined 21 patients with PEX and 21 age- and sex-matched individuals in a control group. Brachial artery endothelial function was assessed by the response to flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and nitroglycerin-mediated dilation (NMD) using high resolution ultrasound. Dilation was expressed as the percent change in diameter relative to the baseline diameter.
Results: Patients with PEX had significantly lower FMD (1.9-2.8 versus 4.1-3.3 in the control group, p = 0.02). NMD in PEX patients was lower than in the control group (10.1-5.1 versus 10.8-5.8 in the control group, p < 0.69), but the difference was not statistically significant.
Conclusions: Our study showed a statistically significant association between PEX and systemic vascular endothelial dysfunction. Larger clinical studies are needed to prove the higher cardiovascular risk in PEX patients.