New research results on laboratory sice suggest that therapy with vitamin A can improve eyesight in diabetes. The investigations have shown that a single dose of the chromophor 9-cis retinal, an analogue of vitamin A, theRestricted visual functionchanged significantly. In addition, this research can help scientists to develop effective treatments of visual loss due to diabetes. These are mostly associated with early diabetic retinopathy.
Use of vitamin A in the laboratory
DieDiabetic retinopathy is an eye diseasethat can lead to loss of vision in people with diabetes. In the middle to late stage, the condition occurs due to damage to the blood vessels in the retina of a person. In patients with diabetes there is a risk of having too much sugar in the blood. Accordingly, the sugar can lead to blocking blood vessels, which leads to bleeding. The eye can develop new blood vessels, but these usually do not work well and can also bleed easily. Treatment can be carried out in the form of injections, laser treatments or eye operations, depending on the circumstances in the patient.
Although diabetic retinopathy in its later stages is characterized by damage to the blood vessels of the retina, recent research has shown that a person can still suffer a loss of vision in their early stages without obvious damage to the blood vessels. Vitamin A is crucial for the normal functioning of seeing. In addition, it helps to develop a protein that enables the retina to absorb light. The retina is accordingly connected to the Chromophor 11-CIS Retinal, which must continuously produce an eye for an optimal view.
Research results
The authors of the new study note that there are indications that diabetes leads to vitamin A deficiency. For this reason, the researchers put up with the hypothesis that there may be a connection between diabetes and the early visual loss characteristic of diabetic retinopathy for some cases. To determine whether this was actually the case, they examined the effectiveness of the chromophor 9-CIS-Retinal in the treatment of visual loss in mice with diabetes. They used 9-cis retinal instead of 11-cis retinal, which is produced by the body, since the latter is very unstable and not available in stores. However, the two are closely connected.
The researchers used three groups of mice for the study. Two of them created the scientists for diabetes, while the other corresponded to the age and gender of the mice with diabetes, but did not have themselves (control group). One group of mice with diabetes received an injection of a single dose of 9-cis retinal, while the other received a placebo. The team then analyzed the visual state of all mice by measuring the electrorentinogram, the cell death of the retina and oxidative stress. The study authors found that the mice treated with 9-cis retinal had a significantly improved eyesight across all measures.This studySo suggests that the delivery of visual chromophor to the diabetic eye represents a potential therapeutic strategy for the early stages of diabetic retinopathy to prevent visual loss in people with diabetes.
