Drug Reverses Diabetes-Related Vision Loss
April 28, 2010 -- Federal researchers say a new treatment can reverse vision loss in many patients with diabetic macular edema, a leading cause of blindness in people with diabetes.
In a news conference yesterday, researchers announced findings from a government study comparing treatments for swelling of the retina caused by leaking blood vessels in the eye.
Nearly 50% of patients given eye injections of the drug Lucentis along with laser treatments showed improvement in vision after a year of treatment, compared to just over a fourth of patients treated with laser alone.
For several decades, laser has been the standard treatment for diabetic macular edema, or DME, in which fluid builds up near the center of the retina.
“For the first time in 25 years we have definitive proof that a new treatment can lead to better results for the eye health of people with diabetes,” said Neil M. Bressler, MD, who oversaw the study as chairman of the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network.
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In a news conference yesterday, researchers announced findings from a government study comparing treatments for swelling of the retina caused by leaking blood vessels in the eye.
Nearly 50% of patients given eye injections of the drug Lucentis along with laser treatments showed improvement in vision after a year of treatment, compared to just over a fourth of patients treated with laser alone.
For several decades, laser has been the standard treatment for diabetic macular edema, or DME, in which fluid builds up near the center of the retina.
“For the first time in 25 years we have definitive proof that a new treatment can lead to better results for the eye health of people with diabetes,” said Neil M. Bressler, MD, who oversaw the study as chairman of the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network.
IsYour Type 2 Diabetes Under Control? Get Your Health Score
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