Diabetic retinopathy is the most common diabetic eye disease and a leading cause of blindness in over 40,000 American adults. Most patients with this disease are a diabetic, but premature babies can also have this disease. The development of an abnormal vasculature in the eyes is a reaction from ischemia, which is a restriction in blood vessels and insufficient oxygen in tissue that can lead to the forming of extra blood vessels in the back of the eye. Unlike in the heart where extra blood vessels that form can have a benefit, the new vessels that form in the eye can lead to the leaking of fluid and blood that can ultimately lead to vision loss.
A study at Scripps Research Institute used a method of repairing damaged blood vessels in the eye through the use of stem cells that came from bone marrow. They injected the white blood cells into the eyes of a mouse model. They found that when the stem cells moved into the avascular areas of the retina, and the parent cell started to change into microglia that supported vascular repair. This was the first time that microglia has been shown to support vascular repair in any organ.
Current treatments for these eye diseases—such as thermal lasers and anti-antigenic drugs—are designed to prevent the growth of new vessels or to close, ablate, or remove abnormal vessels. Using preventative measures such as having yearly eye exams, can help slow the place of complete vision loss. Also having better control of your blood sugar, blood pressure, and blood cholesterol levels can slow the onset and the progression of retinopathy and protect your vision. Also in the 1st three stages of diabetic retinopathy there is no treatment needed. If the disease escalates into proliferative retinopathy, it is usually treated with a laser treatment.
Heather Mundlin
http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/diabetic/retinopathy.asp#4a
http://www.scripps.edu/newsandviews/e_20061120/friedlander.html