Asymmetric proliferative diabetic retinopathy and carotid artery disease.

The authors prospectively evaluated 387 consecutive patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) for asymmetry in posterior segment neovascularization and its relationship to carotid artery disease. For the purpose of this study, asymmetry is defined as the presence of PDR with high-risk characteristics (as per the Diabetic Retinopathy Study) in one eye, with neither proliferative nor preproliferative changes in the opposite eye. Over the 2-year time period of the study, 20 (5.