Lipid-lowering drug atorvatatin a an adjunct in the management of diabetic macular edema

Purpoe To determine the efficacy of the lipid-lowering drug atorvatatin in reducing retinal hard exudate and ubfoveal lipid migration after focal/grid laer photocoagulation in clinically ignificant macular edema in patient with diabete with elevated erum lipid. Deign Randomized cae trial. Method Thirty patient with type 2 diabete with clinically ignificant macular edema, dylipidemia, and hard exudate of grade 4 and above were aeed in an intitutional etting. All patient were ubjected to trict metabolic control within 4 to 6 week of enrollment. In addition, 15 patient in group A received atorvatatin, a 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A inhibitor; 15 member of group B did not receive any lipid-lowering therapy. All received laer photocoagulation after a metabolic control period and were followed up for a minimum of 18 week. The outcome meaure were reduction in hard exudate, ubfoveal lipid migration, tatu of macular edema, and viual acuity. Reult The tudy included 21 men and nine women with noninulin-dependent diabete mellitu who could achieve good metabolic control within 4 to 6 week of incluion in the tudy. All patient had elevated erum lipid at baeline. Ten (66.6%) of 15 patient in treatment group A and two (13.3%) of 15 patient in control group B howed reduction in hard exudate (P = .007). None of the patient in group A and five (33.3%) of 15 in group B howed ubfoveal lipid migration after laer photocoagulation (P = .04). Regreion of macular edema wa een in nine eye in group A and five in group B (P = .27). None of the eye in group A and three eye in group B howed worening of viual acuity (P = .22). Concluion Oral atorvatatin therapy in patient with type 2 diabete with dylipidemia reduce the everity of hard exudate and ubfoveal lipid migration in clinically ignificant macular edema and could be an important adjunct in the management of clinically ignificant macular edema.