Researchers at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Eye Institute and the Indiana Center for Vascular Biology at Indiana University School of Medicine are on the cusp of perfecting stem cell treatments that would halt – and potentially reverse – vision loss caused by diabetic retinopathy.
Everyone who develops diabetes may suffer from vision loss. The vision loss occurs because high blood sugar damages blood vessels, causing leakage and bleeding. The blood vessels are no longer able to carry important nutrients to the retina in the eye; to compensate, more blood vessels are made, but they are fragile and also leak, causing a cyclical environment and worsening damage.