Data from the first-ever large-scale global programme of clinical trials to bring hope to the increasing number of diabetics with eye disease has shown a strong trend in reducing the onset of diabetic retinopathy in Type 1 diabetes patients.
Information from the study also showed a significant increase in regression of diabetic retinopathy in Type 2 patients.
Dubbed DIRECT, (Diabetic Retinopathy Candesartan Trials) the recently concluded clinical trials were designed to assess the benefit of a blood pressure drug, Candesartan, in the fight against diabetic eye disease (retinopathy).
The studies cut across 309 centres in 30 countries and followed 5,231 patients for at least four years with a particular focus on the early stages of the disease.
Progressive changes
Diabetic retinopathy describes changes that occur in the back of the eye (the retina) in diabetic eye disease. These changes are progressive and can lead to blindness. There is no treatment specifically for diabetic retinopathy. Laser treatment can be used to manage severe retinopathy, but it is a destructive treatment that can itself cause loss of vision.
Diabetic retinopathy will affect nearly all people with Type 1 diabetes and approximately two-thirds of people with Type 2 diabetes within 20 years of diagnosis.
If untreated, it may lead to blindness. If diagnosed and treated promptly, blindness is usually preventable.
"Diabetic eye disease is a dangerous complication of diabetes and so we are pleased with the impact of the studies which were completed in September. The results from the the trial showed that Candesartan, which is available in Jamaica, can reduce the development of Diabetic Retinopathy by 18 per cent in type 1 diabetics," said Dr Yessika Moreno, Medical Director of Astrazeneca (Central America and the Caribbean).
In patients with Type 2 diabetes with early signs of diabetic retinopathy, 13 per cent fewer patients in the Candesartan group had a worsening of the disease compared with placebo although this did not reach statistical significance.
Candesartan's improvement
However, in these patients Candesartan showed a significant 34 per cent improvement of diabetic retinopathy. Overall, patients treated with Candesartan had less worsening and more improvement in the severity of their retinopathy than patients treated with placebo by the end of the programme.
"This opens up the huge possibility of fighting against diabetic blindness as some of our patients who are as young as 25-years old. At this age, blindness can have severe social implications for the society as they are in the prime of their working lives," said Moreno.
Previous studies have shown that controlling blood pressure and blood glucose can help to prevent the onset and reduce the progression of diabetic retinopathy.