Stick a needle in your eye?
Diabetics just might want someone to, after learning of the latest drug research out of Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute.
Ranibuzumab, a drug commonly used to slow the loss of central vision due to macular degeneration, has shown promise against a common precursor of blindness in diabetics, according to a report published in the December American Journal of Opthalmology.
The Johns Hopkinsresearchers injected the drug into the eyes of 10 people losing their sight from macular edema, one of many complications of diabetes that can lead to blindness.
“The results are impressive,” said Dr. Quan Dong Nguyen, assistant professor of opthalmology. “Although we will not know until we begin a larger clinical trial what the long-term benefits of the drug might be.”
After several months of therapy, every patient could read at least two more lines on the standard eye chart, according to the study. Swelling of the patients? maculae, the central part of the retina responsible for seeing fine details, decreased an average of 85 percent. The Johns Hopkins group believes ranibuzumab interferes with a protein that spurs the growth of unwanted blood vessels in the back of the eye.
More than 4 million diabetics in the United States have diabetic retinopathy, according to the National Eye Institute. At least one in 12 experiences some vision loss.
All 10 subjects in the study had some vision loss at the start of the trial. Ranibuzumab was administered at months one, two, four and six for each patient, and the thickness of each patient?s macula was measured at each point in the study using advanced digital imaging.
“Within a week, several patients experienced dramatic reductions in the thickness of their maculae, and there were further improvements with each injection,” said Dr. Peter Campochiaro, professor of opthalmology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
