A new treatment could help prevent retinal damage and vision loss from diabetic retinopathy, reports the Biochemical Journal.
According to scientists from the University of Michigan Kellog Eye Center, acting on the appropriate protein can block two important processes related to damage to the blood vessels of the retina in diabetic patients. It is about the inflammatory process and the weakening of the vessel walls.
Damage to the retina, the part of the eye that sends nerve impulses when exposed to light, is related to the activity of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a protein that weakens the barrier between the blood and the retina. Drugs that act on VEGF have shown good results in nearly half of people with retinopathy. However, specialists speculated that by also acting on the inflammatory component, many more people could be helped.
As it turned out, a protein called atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) influences both the inflammatory process and the action of VEGF (without aPKC, VEGF does not increase vascular permeability). Blocking aPKC in laboratory animals has been successful, but more research is needed before the method is (possibly) used in humans. It is possible that by blocking aPKC it is also possible to treat changes in the cerebral vessels associated with a tumor or stroke. (PAP)
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