Diabetic Retinopathy News
Archive (2007 and Before)

...continued from Current Diabetic Retinopathy News

Retasure Approved for Diagnosis of Diabetic Retinopathy

WAKE FOREST, N.C., September 2007 — Digital Healthcare Inc. has won FDA approval to begin marketing a device (Retasure) that may help detect early signs of diabetic retinopathy.

Primary care physicians can use Retasure to photograph the eye's inner back interior (retina). These images then can be transmitted over a secure network to a board-certified ophthalmologistfor analysis of possible eye damage related to diabetes.

Company officials say Retasure allows approximately 20 million U.S. residents with diabetes to be more easily monitored for possible presence of diabetic retinopathy, enabling earlier treatment. The Retasure system is non-invasive and requires no eye dilation.

Quality of Life Decreases for People With Diabetic Macular Edema

CHICAGO, June 2007 — Individuals with type 2 diabetes who develop swelling and thickening of the eye's retina (macular edema) as part of diabetic retinopathy are more likely to report decreased quality of life based on visual function.

Surveys conducted by Chicago investigators found that type 2 diabetics experienced decreased quality of life based on visual function similar to people with glaucoma and type 1 diabetes with diabetic retinopathy.

Results also found visual quality of life among this group to be most similar to people with age-related macular degeneration. Results were reported in the June 21 online version of British Journal of Ophthalmology.

Retinopathy May Predict Stroke in People With Diabetes

MELBOURNE, Australia, March 2007 — People who have diabetes and eye damage (retinopathy) associated with the disease appear to be at greater risk of developing a stroke, according to study results reported in the February 2007 issue of the journal, Stroke.

Researchers at Australia's University of Melbourne found that the same factors causing damage to blood vessels in the back of the eye (retina), found in diabetic retinopathy, also can be associated with an increased risk of stroke.

These findings suggest that people with diabetic retinopathy also should be monitored for the possibility of developing strokes, researchers said.

Nepafenac Eye Drops Could Reduce Diabetic Eye Damage

CLEVELAND, Ohio, February 2007 — A non steroidal anti-inflammatory drug normally used as an eye drop following cataract surgery, Nepafenac, has been shown to help reduce retinal microvascular problems and other eye abnormalities in diabetic rats.

Results of studies conducted by Cleveland and Fort Worth researchers were published in the February 2007 issue of the American Diabetes Association journal, Diabetes. Study results could have implications for diabetics with eye damage associated with retinopathy.

Can Lucentis Reverse Vision Loss in Diabetic Eye Disease?

BALTIMORE, December 2006 — A small study using Lucentis (ranibizumab) as a diabetic retinopathy treatment has demonstrated significant vision improvement in people with early stages of the eye disease, which damages light-sensitive cells in the inner back of the eye (retina).

In the study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute, all 10 people who received eye injections of Lucentis (Genentech, San Francisco) experienced vision improvement of at least two lines on a standard eye chart after several months of treatment.

People with diabetes sometimes experience vision loss when uncontrolled blood sugar damages blood vessels in the area of the retina, leading to swelling and thickening of the macula where finely detailed focusing occurs (macular edema).

"Within a week, several patients experienced dramatic reductions in the thickness of their maculas, and there were further improvements with each injection," study investigator and ophthalmology professor Peter Campochiaro, MD, said in a news release.

The study was reported in the December 2006 issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology.

Other positive results related to diabetic retinopathy treatment have been reported for injections of Avastin (Genentech), a form of Lucentis (see news brief below). Lucentis has been FDA-approved for treating macular degeneration, and Avastin is FDA-approved as a cancer treatment.