Scientists have recently found that mice with diabetes that received treatment with a vitamin A analog had significantly improved eyesight.
New research has shown that a single dose of the chromophore 9-cis-retinal, an analog of vitamin A, can significantly improve reduced visual function in mice with diabetes.
The research, which appears in The American Journal of Pathology, may help scientists develop effective treatments for visual loss associated with early diabetic retinopathy.
According to the National Eye Institute, diabetic retinopathy is an eye condition that can result in the loss of vision for people with diabetes.
In its mid to late stages, the condition occurs due to damage to the blood vessels in a person’s retina.
People with diabetes are at risk of having too much sugar in their blood. The sugar can cause blood vessels to block, resulting in bleeding. The eye can develop new blood vessels, but these typically do not function well and can also easily bleed.
Treatment can take the form of injections, laser treatment, or eye surgery, depending on a person’s circumstances.
Although diabetic retinopathy in its later stages is characterized by damage to the retina’s blood vessels, recent research has suggested that in its early stages, a person can still experience loss of vision without any apparent blood vessel damage.
Vitamin A is crucial for the normal functioning of vision. According to the Office of Dietary Supplements, it helps in the development of a protein that enables the retina to absorb light, which is linked to the chromophore 11-cis-retinal the eye needs to continually produce for optimum vision.
The authors of the new study note that there is evidence to suggest that diabetes can lead to deficiencies in vitamin A, and that 11-cis-retinal is lower in rats with diabetes.
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