Could an intervention as simple as eye drops treat eye damage in diabetes?

ISLAMABAD, MARCH 13 (ONLINE): About 537 million adults globally live with diabetes, with 90–95% of those cases being type 2 diabetes.
People with diabetes are at an increased risk for several eye health conditions, including diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema.

Current treatments for diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema are invasive and include medication injections into the eye and laser therapy.
Data recently released for the phase 1b/2a trial of a new eye drop treatment for diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema reported it to be safe and tolerable with 100% of participants completing the study.
Researchers also reported a significant decrease in central macular thickness after 85 days of use, as well as inhibition of further increases in vascular leakage in study participants using the eye drop.

About 537 million adults around the world live with diabetes, with 90–95% of those cases being type 2 diabetes.
People with diabetes are at an increased risk for several health problems, including those related to the eyes. These include diabetic retinopathyTrusted Source, diabetic macular edema, glaucomaTrusted Source, cataractsTrusted Source, chronic dry eyeTrusted Source, and retinal detachmentTrusted Source.

There is currently no cure for either diabetic retinopathy or diabetic macular edema. Current treatment options for both conditions include medications injected directly into the eye, laser treatments, and eye surgery.Soon, a less invasive treatment for diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema may be available in the form of a simple eye drop.

Data recently released from the new treatment’s phase 1b/2a trial reported it to be safe and tolerable, with 100% of participants completing the study.Additionally, researchers reported a significant decrease in central macular thickness after 85 days of use and inhibition of further increases in vascular leakage.

The researchers will present the full results of the phase 1b/2a trial at the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) in May 2024.Sore need for new diabetes-related eye disease treatments
According to Dr. Loic Lhuillier, chief operating officer of Exonate Ltd. — the manufacturer of the new eye drops — and presenting author of this study, new ways to treat diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema are needed because the current standard of care for diabetic macular edema involves frequent injections of anti-VEGF agentsTrusted Source in the eye, which, although efficacious, are uncomfortable and necessitate clinical time for the procedure.

“There is a need for a noninvasive solution, which would improve [the] quality of life for these patients, by increasing patient comfort and, being self-administered, reducing inconvenience,” Dr. Lhuillier explained to Medical News Today.As for people with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy — at the early stage of the disease — Dr. Lhuillier said they are not offered any solution, except being placed in a “watch and wait” cycle until their disease evolves to either proliferative diabetic retinopathy — a more advanced stage of the condition — or diabetic macular edema, when they are then prescribed anti-VEGF injections.

“Finding a noninvasive, safe, and efficacious treatment for non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy patients would help prevent progression to more severe disease at an early stage,” he continued.“In the [United States] alone, it is estimated that around 7.7 million people have non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy, while 1.8 million have progressed to more severe forms of the disease, so there is a clear incentive to act early and minimize the appearance of sight-threatening complications,” said Dr. Lhuillier.