View larger version (119K):
[in this window]
[in a new window]
|
A 36-year-old woman with newly discovered diabetes mellitus had eruptive xanthomata on her elbows and knees together with striking retinal changes. Her vision was normal, but all retinal vessels appeared creamy white, and the veins were distinguishable from arteries only by their larger caliber (Panel A). This funduscopic finding occurs only with extreme hypertriglyceridemia — concentrations of triglycerides generally exceed 4000 mg per deciliter (45.2 mmol per liter). A blood specimen was lipemic (Panel B), with a triglyceride concentration of 21,040 mg per deciliter (237.5 mmol per liter; normal range, 10 to 190 [0.11 to 2.15 mmol per liter]). The patient was treated with insulin and a low-fat diet, and by the seventh day of treatment, her triglyceride concentration had fallen to 2192 mg per deciliter (24.7 mmol per liter) and the retinas appeared normal.
|
Previous
