Understanding early nerve damage in diabetic eye disease

Researchers are investigating whether diabetes causes early damage to the nerves in your retina (the light-sensitive tissue at the back of your eye) before blood vessel damage occurs. If this connection is confirmed, it could lead to the first real treatment option for diabetic retinopathy — an eye condition that can cause vision loss in people with diabetes. This study includes two parts: one that follows patients over time and another that compares people with and without diabetic retinopathy.

Currently, diabetic retinopathy has no preventive treatment — doctors can only manage it once blood vessel damage has started. If early nerve damage is discovered to be a root cause, this medication or similar treatments might be able to stop or slow the disease before vision loss occurs.