Retinal capillary basement membrane thickening in a porcine model of diabetes mellitus.

Purpose: Current animal models of diabetic microangiopathy, including diabetic retinopathy (DR), have substantial limitations. To determine whether the diabetic pig would provide an improved large animal model of DR, a 20-week porcine model of diabetic dyslipidemia that manifests appreciable macrovasculopathy was evaluated for development of retinal microvascular changes associated with diabetes mellitus (hereafter referred to as diabetes) in humans.

Methods: The effect of diabetes alone or in combination with high dietary fat intake on retinal capillary morphology was assessed.