The two main types of diabetes have an almost sneaky way of hurting you. The damage that these conditions do takes time to achieve and the physical consequences take a long time to emerge. All of the harm is done on a micro-vascular level, to our very smallest blood-vessels; it can take a while for the damage done at the very smallest level of us to ripple out far enough for us to notice it.
Our eyes have the smallest blood vessels in our bodies, they’re incredibly delicate and intricate little organs and even the slightest damage can cause visual impairment eventually resulting in blindness. One of the hallmarks of diabetes has long been blindness and though the issue is much less common in modern times due to the level of diabetes management on offer, it’s still an issue today. Some people catch their condition too late and the damage is already done and others let it get out of hand and have their vision degrade and eventually fail that way, it doesn’t matter so much how it happens all that’s important is that it does.
In a recent study on white lab mice a new concoction of compounds was used to halt the degradation of the eyes and the rest of the minute blood vessels. The study involved insulin and a growth a growth factor called betacellulin, it showed that by combining these two agents the vascular integrity of the mice was maintained despite wildly fluctuating blood-sugar levels.
The findings so far have been extremely promising but these studies now need to be transferred to human subjects. It’s thought that, should all go to plan and the effects of the treatment are similar in humans that this could be a huge leap forward. Treatment like this would greatly improve the lives of diabetic whose blood-sugar levels simply will not stay under control.
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