Elucidating what in the Western diet incites inflammation in the blood vessels of the diabetic eye

What is it about?

Type 1 and type 2 diabetes affect the health of the inner lining of blood vessels. People with diabetes often experience complications in the eyes, heart, and other organs because of worsening blood vessel damage over the long term. A pressing question in diabetes research is how elevated blood levels of sugar, cholesterol, and fat may contribute to blood vessel damage in relation to the diet. Data suggest that a Western diet high in sugar, cholesterol, and saturated fat may worsen diabetes complications. This has led to the popular belief that all dietary fats are damaging to the blood vessels of diabetes patients, although no research study has examined that question.

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Why is it important?

We examined the effects of different dietary fats on the earliest molecular signs of retinal damage in an experimental rodent model of type 1 diabetes. This model is characterized by the inability to produce insulin and by elevated levels of sugar and fat in the blood. We tested various diets with moderate levels of carbohydrates but lacking sugar. The diet with high levels of dietary cholesterol and specific saturated fatty acids that are abundant in the Western diet worsened retinal damage when compared with the other diets. Diets high in saturated or unsaturated fat but lacking cholesterol did not worsen retinal damage. This work lays the foundation for further examination of the relationship between levels of fat in the blood, dietary fats, and the development of diabetes complications. Future experiments are warranted in models of treated type 1 diabetes and treated and untreated type 2 diabetes.