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Researchers find new way to treat diabetic blindness

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Washington: US researchers said they have found a new way to restore the eyesight in patients who have a blinding eye disease caused by diabetes.

The key is to block a second blood vessel growth protein, along with one that is already well-known, when it comes to treating and preventing diabetic retinopathy, the most common diabetic eye disease, they reported in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a news agency reported.

Diabetic retinopathy occurs when the normal blood vessels in the eye are replaced over time with abnormal, fragile blood vessels that leak fluid or bleed into the eye, damaging the light- sensitive retina and causing blindness.

Forty to 45 percent of Americans with diabetes have diabetic retinopathy, according to the US National Eye Institute.

Laser-sealing eye blood vessels can save central vision, but this often sacrifices peripheral and night vision, according to the researchers at the Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland.

Several recently developed drugs — bevacizumab, ranibizumab and aflibercept — can help treat these blood vessels by blocking the action of VEGF, a so-called growth factor released as part of a chain of signals in response to low oxygen levels, which stimulates the growth of new, often abnormal, blood vessels.

But studies have shown that although these drugs slow progression to proliferative diabetic retinopathy, it does not reliably prevent it, said lead author Akrit Sodhi, an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

To find an explanation, levels of VEGF in samples of fluid from the eye taken from healthy people, people with diabetes who did not have diabetic retinopathy and people with diabetic retinopathy of varying severity were tested.

While levels of VEGF tended to be higher in those with proliferative diabetic retinopathy, some of their fluid had less VEGF than did the healthy participants.

But even the low-VEGF fluid from patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy stimulated blood vessel growth in lab-grown cells.

“The results suggested to us that although VEFG clearly plays an important role in blood vessel growth, it’s not the only factor, ” Sodhi said in a statement.

A series of experiments in lab-grown human cells and mice revealed a second culprit, a protein called angiopoietin-like 4.

When the researchers blocked the action of both VEGF and angiopoietin-like 4 in fluid from the eyes of people with proliferative diabetic retinopathy, it markedly reduced blood vessel growth in lab-grown cells.

Sodhi suggested if a drug can be found that safely blocks the second protein’s action in patients’ eyes, it might be combined with the anti-VEGF drugs to prevent many cases of proliferative diabetic retinopathy.

The team is now investigating whether angiopoietin-like 4 might also play a role in other eye diseases, such as macular degeneration, which destroys the central portion of the retina.

Corona

Covid toll in Karnataka is a worrying sign for state government

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Even though Karnataka recorded the lowest number of Covid deaths in April since the virus struck first in 2020, the state is recording a rise in the positivity rate (1.50 per cent). Five people died from the Covid infections in April as per the statistics released by the state health department. In March, the positivity rate stood around 0.53 per cent. In the first week of April it came down to 0.38 per cent, second week registered 0.56 per cent, third week it rose to 0.79 per cent and by end of April the Covid positivity rate touched 1.19 per cent.

on an average 500 persons used to succumb everyday in the peak of Covid infection, as per the data. Health experts said that the mutated Coronavirus is losing its fierce characteristics as vaccination, better treatment facilities and awareness among the people have contributed to the lesser number of Covid deaths.

During the 4th and 6th of April two deaths were reported in Bengaluru, one in Gadag district on April 8, two deaths were reported from Belagavi and Vijayapura on April 30. The first Covid case was reported in the state in March 2020 and three Covid deaths were recorded in the month. In the following month 21 people became victims to the deadly virus, and May 2020 recorded 22 deaths. The death toll recorded everyday after May crossed three digits. However, the third wave, which started in January 2

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