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.

Ruboxistaurin shows favorable effects on kidney damage and function in people with type 2 diabetes and nephropathy

Eli Lilly and Company today announced encouraging results from a one-year pilot study examining the effect of ruboxistaurin mesylate in persons with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease (also known as "diabetic nephropathy").

12 Jun 2005

Patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes should be screened for retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy has been found in nearly 8 percent of pre-diabetic participants in the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), according to a report presented today at the American Diabetes Association's 65th Annual Scientific Sessions.

12 Jun 2005

New approach to inhibiting blood vessel growth or angiogenesis

A manmade protein with a tail of amino acids delivered to target cells can dramatically reduce blood vessel growth that obstructs vision or feeds a tumor, researchers have found.

31 May 2005

Common antibiotic called minocycline may slow or prevent diabetic retinopathy

The team found that minocycline, often used to treat acne, limits by about 50 percent the retinal damage caused by microglia. Microglia are cells that act as the "cleanup crew" for the Central Nervous System (CNS).

11 May 2005

Older adults with diabetes in managed care networks have higher rates of untreated eye disease

Medicare beneficiaries at high risk for eye disease due to diabetes are more likely to have unrecognized and untreated eye disease if they are enrolled in managed care than if they have fee-for-service (FFS) health insurance, according to an article in the May issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.

9 May 2005

Internet may help prevent blindness in Medicaid patients with diabetes

A Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center team is launching a high-tech study to determine if early screening using a special camera and images transmitted over the Internet can prevent blindness in Medicaid patients with diabetes.

4 May 2005

Oak Ridge technology used to understand semiconductor defects helps people at risk of becoming blind

Millions of people at risk of becoming blind could one day be helped by an Oak Ridge National Laboratory technology originally intended to understand semiconductor defects.

10 Feb 2005

Pegaptanib (Macugen) is an effective treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration

Results from two concurrent, prospective, double-blind, multi-center clinical trials show that pegaptanib (Macugen), an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy, is an effective treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to a paper in the Dec. 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Macugen was approved by the Food and Drug Administration on Dec. 17.

30 Dec 2004

Stem cells can preserve and improve vision in eyes damaged by retinal disease

"These findings hold great promise for potential treatments for people suffering from macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and other retinal diseases," says Michael Young, PhD, an assistant scientist at Schepens Eye Research Institute and the lead author of the study.

18 Nov 2004

Patients with type 2 diabetes and hypertension who kept their blood pressure very tightly controlled had fewer eye disorders caused by their diabetes

According to the article, type 2 diabetes and hypertension are often associated. At age 40, approximately 32 percent of patients with type 2 diabetes are also hypertensive, and that proportion increases to 47 percent by age 60, the article states.

8 Nov 2004

Discovery of a new blindness gene

The discovery by a Leeds University scientist of a new blindness gene could help to save the sight of thousands of sufferers of retinal disease which affects premature babies as well as people over 60.

4 Nov 2004

Ruboxistaurin may reduce vision loss from diabetes-induced eye disease

Eli Lilly and Company's investigational compound ruboxistaurin may reduce vision loss from diabetes-induced eye disease, according to new analyses of previously reported data presented at the 2004 Joint Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the European Society of Ophthalmology in New Orleans, La.

26 Oct 2004

Link between elevated blood sugar levels in diabetics and increased risk of life-threatening forms of cardiovascular disease

A Johns Hopkins study suggests that people with type I and type II diabetes would be well advised to monitor their blood sugar levels more than the usual twice daily to make sure that levels are not elevated over 150 milligrams per deciliter for sustained periods.

20 Sep 2004

Potential stem cells treatment for retinitis pigmentosa and other retinal degenerations

A team of researchers from The Scripps Research Institute was able to preserve visual function in mice that were genetically predisposed to developing a profound degenerative disease that destroys their retinas.

16 Sep 2004

Findings about diabetic eye disease may lead to improved screenings and treatment for people with diabetes

Eli Lilly and Company have announced key findings from analyses of prior study data that enhances understanding of vision loss due to diabetic retinopathy, a diabetic microvascular complication that affects an estimated 50 million people worldwide.

10 Sep 2004

New spectral imaging technique will help diagnosis of glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and age related macula degeneration

A new way of taking pictures of the retina could give medics a powerful new tool in diagnosing and monitoring the most prevalent diseases of the eye - glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and age related macula degeneration.

8 Sep 2004

Latinos living in the United States have high rates of eye disease and visual impairment

Researchers found that Latinos had high rates of diabetic retinopathy, an eye complication of diabetes; and open-angle glaucoma, a disease that damages the optic nerve.

9 Aug 2004

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a leading cause of mortality in children worldwide

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is a leading cause of mortality in children worldwide. According to the American Heart Association, Congenital cardiovascular defects are present in about one percent of live births and are the most common malformations in newborns.

12 Jul 2004

Erectile dysfunction and type 2 diabetes could mean heart disease

Men who had silent, or symptomless, coronary artery disease (CAD) and type 2 diabetes were nine times as likely to have erectile dysfunction (ED) as were diabetic men who did not have silent heart disease.

22 Jun 2004

Australian government programs help improve Indigenous eye health

The Australian Government today released the Review of the Implementation of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Eye Health Program as well as its response.

28 May 2004