Diabetic Retinopathy News and Research

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In the initial stages, people with diabetic retinopathy may not notice their vision changing. Diabetics sometimes experience rapid changes in blood sugar that can temporarily cause blurry vision even when retinopathy is not present. If a person notices a few specks or spots floating in his visual field, this may mean he has developed proliferative diabetic retinopathy, the growth of abnormal new blood vessels on the retina and optic nerve. High blood sugar levels have been linked in studies to retinal blood vessel abnormalities. Blurred vision may occur when the macula--the small area at the center of the retina--swells as it fills with fluid that has leaked from retinal blood vessels. Because damage to the eye often develops slowly, early detection of diabetes and control of blood sugar through diet and medications can make a crucial difference in saving vision.

Effective diabetic retinopathy treatments include laser photocoagulation for early to moderate stages and a microsurgery called vitrectomy for repair of eyes with extensive damage. Injectable and oral medications that act on abnormal blood vessels to control diabetic retinopathy before vision loss occurs are now in development. Early detection would be key to the effectiveness of these treatments, also.

Metformin can reduce risk of open-angle glaucoma in people with diabetes

Taking the medication metformin hydrochloride was associated with reduced risk of developing the sight-threatening disease open-angle glaucoma in people with diabetes, according to a study published online by JAMA Ophthalmology.

29 May 2015

Study could offer new way to treat, prevent diabetes-associated blindness

Reporting on their study with lab-grown human cells, researchers at The Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland say that blocking a second blood vessel growth protein, along with one that is already well-known, could offer a new way to treat and prevent a blinding eye disease caused by diabetes.

26 May 2015

Submacular air injection aids tPA haemorrhage displacement

Submacular air injection with a microneedle is effective at facilitating the displacement of massive submacular haemorrhages dissolved with tissue plasminogen activator in patients with age-related macular degeneration, an interventional case series shows.

20 May 2015

OAO report calls for better care for people living with eye disease, vision problems in Ontario

By 2031, the number of Ontarians living with eye disease and vision problems, already in the millions, is expected to double. This leads to significant costs for Ontario's healthcare system, with vision loss already costing the province $7.3 billion annually.

28 Apr 2015

TSRI study provides new insight into preventing diseases that cause vision loss in adults

A new study from scientists at The Scripps Research Institute shows that nerve cells and blood vessels in the eye constantly "talk" to each other to maintain healthy blood flow and prevent disease.

28 Apr 2015

Dry eye strikes most often in spring

New ophthalmology research from the University of Miami shows that dry eye - the little understood culprit behind red, watery, gritty feeling eyes - strikes most often in spring, just as airborne allergens are surging.

24 Apr 2015

Blocking Slit2 protein prevents blood vessel development that causes vasoproliferative ocular diseases

Vasoproliferative ocular diseases are responsible for sight loss in millions of people in the industrialised countries. Many patients do not currently respond to the treatment offered, which targets a specific factor, VEGF. A team of Inserm researchers at the Vision Institute (Inserm/CNRS/Pierre and Marie Curie University), in association with a team from the Yale Cardiovascular Research Center, have demonstrated in an animal model that blocking another protein, Slit2, prevents the pathological blood vessel development that causes these diseases.

22 Apr 2015

Eyenuk's EyeArt automated high-throughput diabetic retinopathy screening receives CE Mark

Eyenuk, Inc. announced today that it received CE Marking for its pioneering EyeArt software, a suite of advanced image analysis tools for automated high-throughput screening of diabetic retinopathy. The company plans to launch its product in select leading eye care sites across Europe in the next few months.

14 Apr 2015

Regeneron announces FDA approval of EYLEA (aflibercept) Injection for diabetic retinopathy

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved EYLEA (aflibercept) Injection for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME). In 2014, the FDA granted EYLEA Breakthrough Therapy designation and Priority Review for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy in patients with DME.

27 Mar 2015

Loyola ophthalmologist recommends specific foods and supplements for healthy vision

You may remember your mother telling you to eat your carrots; they are good for your eyes. Well, she was right. "Carrots are actually just one of the many foods, and supplements that contribute to good eye health," says James McDonnell, MD, pediatric ophthalmologist, Loyola University Health System. "In some cases, eyesight can actually be improved depending on what you eat."

24 Mar 2015

UTSA professor named Gold Fellow of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthamology

Andrew Tsin, professor of biology in the UTSA College of Sciences, has been named a Gold Fellow of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthamology for his dedication and exemplary contributions in the field. Tsin will receive the honor at the 2015 ARVO Annual Meeting, May 3-7 in Denver.

10 Mar 2015

Patients with Parkinson's disease often face difficulties with reduced visual contrast acuity

Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) often have difficulties with visual acuity in low-contrast images. Because they may have normal high-contrast vision, this is often overlooked during routine eye exams. In the current issue of the Journal of Parkinson's Disease, researchers report that PD patients had significantly worse vision for low-contrast images at close (40 cm) and far (2 m) distances. Even for high-contrast images, PD patients' vision was deficient at far distances.

26 Feb 2015

EKF introduces new diabetic biomarker test – The Stanbio Chemistry GSP LiquiColor® Assay

Glycated Serum Protein bridges the gap in diabetes testing in cases where HbA1c cannot be reliably measured

From EKF Diagnostics 23 Feb 2015

Johns Hopkins researcher helps discover effectiveness of three drugs for treating patients with DME

A researcher from Johns Hopkins Medicine helped lead colleagues from across the country in a government-sponsored study by the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network to discover that three drugs -- Eylea, Avastin and Lucentis -- used to treat diabetic macular edema are all effective. They also discovered that Eylea outperformed the other two drugs when vision loss was moderate to severe.

23 Feb 2015

UW ophthalmology researchers help show effectiveness of three drugs for treating DME

An ophthalmology research team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison took part in a nationwide clinical trial comparing treatments for a form of diabetic eye disease. The study found that three commonly used drugs perform much the same for those with mild vision problems, but one medication performed better for those with more serious vision loss.

23 Feb 2015

Clinical study comparing effectiveness of three standard treatments for DME published in NEJM

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that results from the National Institutes of Health-sponsored, Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network comparative effectiveness study in patients with Diabetic Macular Edema (Protocol T) were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and a corresponding slide set was posted online at DRCR.net.

20 Feb 2015

Ranibizumab drug reverses diabetes-related blindness

Ranibizumab, a prescription drug commonly used to treat age-related vision loss, also reverses vision loss caused by diabetes among Hispanic and non-Hispanic whites, according to a new study led by investigators from the University of Southern California Eye Institute.

19 Feb 2015

Diabetic Retinopathy News and Research

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