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Research advancements made in diabetes-induced blindness

Date:
January 15, 2014
Source:
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Summary:
Investigators have identified new molecular abnormalities in the diabetic cornea that could contribute to eye problems in affected patients. With this new knowledge, investigators aim to accelerate the process of healing and repair in damaged corneas to ultimately reverse the effects of diabetes-induced eye complications.
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Investigators at the Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute have identified new molecular abnormalities in the diabetic cornea that could contribute to eye problems in affected patients. With this new knowledge, investigators aim to accelerate the process of healing and repair in damaged corneas to ultimately reverse the effects of diabetes-induced eye complications.

"We observed small but significant changes in the gene expressions between normal and diabetic corneas," said Mehrnoosh Saghizadeh Ghiam, PhD, assistant professor of biomedical sciences and neurosurgery, a researcher in the Regenerative Medicine Institute Eye Program and the lead author of the study published in the journal PLOS ONE. "These slight alterations may contribute to disease progression and cause cascading effects on the cellular functions that prevent wound healing and eventually contribute to vision impairment."

Diabetes is a systemic disease affecting all parts of the body, including the eye and may lead to vision loss. Roughly 50 to 70 percent of diabetic patients suffer from corneal complications that include alterations in vital corneal stem cells, causing lasting defects and eventually, vision impairment.

Investigators identified gene expression regulators, microRNAs, in normal and diabetic human corneas. They then successfully confirmed that several of these regulators were expressed differently in the diabetic corneas. These differently expressed microRNAs may contribute to stem cell and epithelial (tissue cells) abnormalities in diabetic corneas. Researchers are working on the manipulation of these microRNAs by gene therapy to normalize these corneas.

"No previous studies have addressed the role of microRNAs in the corneas of patients with diabetes," said Alexander Ljubimov, PhD, director of the Eye Program at the Regenerative Medicine Institute and co-author of the paper. "This first-of-a-kind study will allow researchers to better understand the roles of microRNAs in corneal diseases."


Story Source:

Materials provided by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Vincent A. Funari, Michael Winkler, Jordan Brown, Slobodan D. Dimitrijevich, Alexander V. Ljubimov, Mehrnoosh Saghizadeh. Differentially Expressed Wound Healing-Related microRNAs in the Human Diabetic Cornea. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (12): e84425 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0084425

Cite This Page:

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. "Research advancements made in diabetes-induced blindness." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 15 January 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140115075124.htm>.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. (2014, January 15). Research advancements made in diabetes-induced blindness. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140115075124.htm
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. "Research advancements made in diabetes-induced blindness." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140115075124.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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