Diabetes and the retina (eldre-affy-mouse-319092)

Diabetes is a disease now affecting more than 20 million people in the United States alone. When left untreated it has numerous debilitating effects including diabetic retinopathy, which is characterized by the death of retinal neurons as well as a breakdown of the retinal vascularization. This leads to nearly 24,000 cases of blindness each year among diabetic patients. Studies have shown the importance of both nitric oxide and the gene VEGF in retinopathy, however little is known about the condition's progression. This study would determine which genes are affected early in diabetes and more generally, give insite into how neural degeneration occurs in the retina.

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