By Randolph E. Schmid, The Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- A synthetic form of vitamin B1 that is used in Europe to treat
nerve problems has been found to prevent the most common form of
diabetes-related eye disease in rats.
Diabetic rats treated with benfotiamine for 36 weeks did not develop any of the
retina damage found in a similar group of untreated rats, according to a
research team led by Dr. Michael Brownlee of the Albert Einstein College of
Medicine in New York.
Brownlee said he hopes to begin a clinical trial to determine whether a similar
result would occur in humans once an effective dose for the drug in people is
determined. That could happen as soon as a year, he said.
"We can't say it works in humans because there has never been a double-blind
clinical study" of it, Brownlee said.
The new findings are published today in the online edition of the journal Nature
Medicine.
In the United States, diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in people ages
20 to 70. Diabetic retinopathy -- damage to the small blood cells in the retina
-- is the most common problem. The American Diabetes Association estimates that
from 12,000 to 24,000 people lose their sight each year because of diabetes.
Source: The Orlando Sentinel: The Associated Press.
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