Prevent Blindness declares November Diabetes-Related Eye Disease Awareness Month

According to Prevent Blindness, more than 26% of people with diabetes have diabetic retinopathy, the most common diabetes-related eye disease and the primary cause of blindness in adults aged 20 to 74 years.

To help bring attention to this condition, the nonprofit organization has declared November Diabetes-Related Eye Disease Awareness Month and has provided several resources, including an educational toolkit, available in English and Spanish, and a fact sheet for parents and care providers of youths with diabetes.

Additionally, Prevent Blindness has dedicated two episodes of its Focus on Eye Health Expert Series to diabetes and vision, featuring Kristen Nwanyanwu, MD, MBA, MHS, associate professor of ophthalmology and visual science at Yale School of Medicine, and Neil M. Bressler, MD, professor of ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and editor in chief of JAMA Ophthalmology.

Prevent Blindness also recently launched the Gr8 Eye Movement, an awareness campaign to help public understanding of the risk for developing retinal diseases like diabetes-related macular edema and diabetic retinopathy.

In recognition of Diabetes-Related Eye Disease Awareness Month, here are Healio’s latest stories about advancements in diagnostics and care for patients with diabetes-related eye disease.

VIDEO: ERGs now ‘doctor-friendly,’ more affordable tool for visual function

Electroretinograms can help predict progression of diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma by providing objective information about visual function, according to Nate Lighthizer, OD, at Academy ’23.

“It’s something that has changed tremendously over the course of the last 10 to 15 years,” Lighthizer, associate dean and professor at NSU Oklahoma College of Optometry, told Healio. Watch here.

Optometric task force releases standards for diabetic retinopathy management

LKC Technologies has released Modern Fundamentals of Diabetic Retinopathy Management in Optometry, a new consensus document developed by a task force of medical optometry educators to guide patient care.

“The group strove to develop recommendations that would be practical to implement,” Paul Chous, MA, OD, FAAO, of Chous Eye Care Associates in Tacoma, Washington, who led the task force’s inaugural meeting in 2022, said in an LKC press release. “Our goal was to elevate the standard of care with proper management and vigilance, even given the challenges posed by today’s busy health care environments.” Read more.

Unity to focus on UBX1325 in diabetic macular edema

Patients with wet age-related macular degeneration who were switched from aflibercept alone to a combination of aflibercept and UBX1325 at week 24 maintained vision gains through 48 weeks in part B of the phase 2 ENVISION study.

“The ENVISION study shows that patients with wet AMD who switch from anti-VEGF to UBX1325 can maintain visual acuity with a significant reduction in anti-VEGF treatment burden,” Anirvan Ghosh, PhD, CEO of Unity Biotechnology, said in a press release. “Patients with more severe disease may benefit from a combination of aflibercept and UBX1325.” Read more.

AI screening for diabetic retinopathy accurate, helps remove barriers to care

The use of artificial intelligence in screening for diabetic retinopathy led to accurate referrals in Rwanda with reportedly high patient satisfaction, according to a study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.

“This study has the potential to make a big impact for patients with diabetes in Africa,” Wanjiku “Ciku” Mathenge, MBChB, MMed, PhD, medical adviser of global programs for the nonprofit organization Orbis International and the study’s principal investigator, said in a press release from the organization. “In the study, we found that most patients had not had a recent full eye exam despite worrying about their vision and knowing their risks for developing diabetic retinopathy.” Read more.

Moderate, high caffeine intake may protect against diabetic retinopathy

Caffeine may offer a dose-dependent protective effect against the development of diabetic retinopathy, according to data published in Nutrients.

“Our results suggest a protective effect of moderate and high (Q2 and Q4) daily caffeine intake and the presence of [diabetic retinopathy],” Nuria Alcubierre, MSc, PhD, a nutritionist at Avantmedic Center in Lleida, Spain, and colleagues wrote. “However, no association was found between coffee and tea consumption, the main food sources of caffeine, and the presence of [diabetic retinopathy] in these individuals.” Read more.

Ocuphire aims to advance investigational oral treatment for diabetic retinopathy

Ocuphire Pharma announced plans to meet with the FDA in the fourth quarter of 2023 to advance a phase 3 regulatory path for APX3330, an investigational treatment for diabetic retinopathy and diabetic macular edema.

According to a company press release, Ocuphire has scheduled an end-of-phase 2 meeting with the FDA, based on the strength of efficacy and safety results from the ZETA-1 phase 2 trial of APX3330. Prevention of binocular 3-step worsening of diabetic retinopathy has been identified as the phase 3 registration endpoint, which the company will confirm with the FDA as part of APX3330’s path to approval. Read more.

Corneal cell density loss greater in patients with diabetes after cataract surgery

Patients with diabetes had significantly greater endothelial cell loss after phacoemulsification cataract surgery compared with their nondiabetic counterparts, according to data published in Diagnostics.

“Our results revealed a reduction in the number of endothelial cells, highlighting the fact that cataract surgery is a traumatic procedure for the cornea, regardless of the presence or absence of diabetes,” Adela-Laura Ciorba, from the University of Oradea in Romania, and colleagues wrote. “We also noticed an increase in the central corneal thickness in both groups after surgery, with a greater statistical significance in the first week post phacoemulsification, while the percentage of hexagonal cells dropped in both groups after surgery, with a greater difference observed at week 4.” Read more.

VIDEO: Interim results promising for RGX-314 in diabetic retinopathy

In this Healio Video Perspective from the ASRS meeting, Dilsher Dhoot, MD, discusses the interim results of the phase 2 ALTITUDE trial investigating three doses of RGX-314 gene therapy in diabetic retinopathy.

“If we look at dose levels one and two, we saw ‘any improvement’ in [Diabetic Retinopathy Severity Scale] of 54% in both doses combined compared to 20% improvement in the sham group,” he said. Watch here.