A sight for diabetic eyes

By: Bela Anand-Apte
Blocking a growth factor could thwart synergistic retinal damage in persons with diabetes undergoing insulin therapy

Anew therapeutic approach to diabetes combining insulin and an inhibitor of the epidermal growth factor betacellulin could limit the progressive degeneration of vision, says Cleveland Clinic researcher Bela Anand-Apte.

The association of visual impairment and the progression of both Type I and Type II diabetes appears to strengthen over time. The National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse estimates that of the 25.8 million American who have diabetes, 4.2 million have diabetic retinopathy, and in 675,000 of them it progresses to its most severe form, proliferative diabetic retinopathy where abnormal—and leaky—blood vessels intrude into the eyeball's clear vitreous gel, causing retinal traction and bleeding. (Read more at http://www.ascb.org/pressbook/2012)

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