Study Finds That Dual-Drug Combination Shows Promising Results Against Diabetic Eye Disease Details Here!

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A team of researchers at University of Florida Health and Dutch researchers has found that a two-drug cocktail provided better protection against diabetes-related vision loss than a single drug during testing in rat models. They noted that the drug combination is a promising and unique potential treatment for patients with diabetic retinopathy, which is a major cause of vision loss in middle-age diabetes patients.

Diabetic retinopathy is known to cause damage to blood vessels in the retina located at the back of the eye, leading to distorted vision or blindness. In 2016, the American Academy of Ophthalmology estimated 4.2 million cases of diabetic retinopathy among people who are 40 years old and beyond in the United States.

In the instant study, the researchers found that the two drugs were more effective than a single drug at reducing the symptoms of diabetic retinopathy in the animals' retinas. They stated that the two-drug treatment minimized capillary loss by 68 percent compared to 43 percent with the single drug during the 12-week study.

The cocktail called angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI), is a combination of irbesartin (an angiotensin receptor blocker) and the anti-diarrhea compound thiorphan, a neprilysin inhibitor which is already being used to treat high blood pressure. Its effectiveness in the laboratory was similar to using irbesartin alone, according to Eurekalert.

Although the cocktail did not reverse the effects of diabetic retinopathy completely, it slowed the condition in the animal models, co-author and a postdoctoral associate in the UF College of Medicine's department of ophthalmology research, Tuhina Prasad, Ph.D. said. He noted that the cocktail was much more effective in reducing inflammation, which is among the key symptoms of diabetic retinopathy.

He added that if the inflammation can be reduced, it would protect the retinal cells and delay the progression of the disease. The drug combination was also more effective than the single drug in reducing cell death in the retina after 12 weeks in the rat models.

The findings of the study state that the cocktail produced a 51 percent reduction in cell death, but the lone drug displayed only a 25 percent reduction. The findings are said to be potentially important in the development of drugs to treat the condition as the disease is significantly related to prolonged diabetes in patients.

However, the researchers still have to conduct further study to better understand the possible chronic side effects of the neprilysin enzyme inhibitor on the eye before the treatment can be available to patients. Further studies are also necessary to better understand the long-term effects of administering the inhibitor, according to Science Daily.

The researchers believe that the newly discovered compound could someday be a promising option for people living with diabetic retinopathy. They published their findings in the journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.