Injections of a medicine called ranibizumab into the eye can improve eyesight and prevent people with diabetes from losing their vision further.
There is hope for patients who suffer from visual disturbances due to diabetes. After 40 years of searching, scientists have found a new therapy.
Researchers found that injections of a drug called ranibizumab significantly improved vision compared to traditional treatments offered to diabetic patients suffering from proliferative diabetic retinopathy.
The primary factor in developing this disorder is high blood sugar, destroying the cells at the back of the eye. If left untreated, diabetic retinopathy can lead to complete blindness.
Diabetic retinopathy is the leading cause of blindness in people with diabetes. Until now, the standard therapy has been laser treatment, which can lead to loss of peripheral vision and problems with night vision.
The new therapy not only improves central vision but does not damage peripheral vision, allowing patients to see the letters on the eye chart more clearly and to read an average of half the length of a line of text.
“This study is an important step forward for patients with proliferative retinopathy because it gives ophthalmologists who help them fight the disorder with a new tool,” said Dr. Timothy Olsen of the US Emory University in Atlanta.
The medicine is injected through a fine needle into the vitreous inside the eye. Three doses should be administered at monthly intervals.
The number of adults with diabetes has increased by over 65%. since 2005, which means that more and more people are at risk of blindness.
Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness among working-age Britons. It is estimated that in England around 4200 people have lost their eyesight due to diabetic retinopathy.
Typically, within 20 years of diagnosis, all patients with type 1 diabetes and nearly two-thirds of patients with type 2 diabetes (60%) develop severe visual impairment.
Nearly 3,5 million people with diabetes live in Great Britain, according to the latest analysis of medical data, commissioned by the British Heart Foundation.
Last year, the number of people with diabetes increased by 3,5 percent. Hundreds of thousands of people live with undiagnosed type 2 diabetes, which is linked to obesity and an unhealthy lifestyle.
On the occasion of World Diabetes Day on November 14, the British Heart Foundation announced a donation of over £ 3 million to fund research on the link between heart disease and diabetes, and to search for new therapies.
“Diabetes is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease,” says Professor Peter Weissberg, the foundation’s medical director. – In the UK, nearly four million adults suffer from diabetes. These people urgently need new therapies to help prevent fatal or disabling heart attacks and strokes.
“ The study we’re funding will show how diabetes affects blood vessels and leads to the development of heart disease. Understanding this process will lead to the development of new drugs that will slow down the process and possibly even reverse it.
Study results were presented at the annual symposium of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. They are also published by the magazine “JAMA”.