A New Vision for Diabetes Screening

[Educator Nurse]

A New Vision for Diabetes Screening

With diabetes and pre-diabetes cases on the

rise,
it’s no surprise that complications associated with
the chronic disease are also increasing. Now, a
simple new screening device may be the vision
of the future for preventing one of the most
serious complications: blindness.

A new screening test can detect tissue damage
associated with diabetes as many as 10 to 15
years before other non-invasive clinical
methods.

“The course of diabetes-induced retinal
cell death occurs slowly over many years,
but as it progresses there is irreversible
damage, which if not detected and treated
early can lead to diabetic retinopathy
and blindness,” explained Victor Elner,
MD, Ph.D., Ravitz Foundation professor
of ophthalmology and visual sciences and
a professor in the department of
pathology at the University of Michigan
Kellogg Eye Center in Ann Arbor,
Michigan. “Diabetes mellitus is the
leading cause for legal blindness in
working age adults in the United States as
these patients have a five times greater
risk for blindness than non-diabetics.”

Recognizing the need for early detection
of diabetes in order to preserve vision,
Elner and Howard Petty, Ph.D., a
fellow professor of ophthalmology and
visual sciences and a professor of
microbiology and immunology at the
UM Kellogg Eye Center, devised a new
screening test that has the ability to
detect metabolic stress and tissue
damage associated with diabetes
as many as 10 to 15 years before other
non-invasive clinical methods could
detect signs of diabetes.
“The Centers for Disease Control recognize
the tremendous health care burden due
to diabetes and promote early detection
and treatment as the best means to
reduce costs and prevent debilitating
complications, which can lead to blindness
and death,” he said.

“Despite this, patients do not get screened
regularly for diabetes due to the
cumbersome nature of existing screening
methods, as they are invasive, require
fasting and involve blood draws. In fact,
there are currently six million Americans
with undiagnosed diabetes and over 50
million with pre-diabetes,” he continued.
“Patients often go for testing only
after diabetic complications are seen
by a doctor in clinic, by which time over
30 percent of cells in the eye and other
organs may have already died.”

Elner added that his and Petty’s screening
method, which the two termed Retinal
Metabolic Analysis (RMA™), is the right
tool for effective, non-invasive early
detection. It costs as little as $20, as
compared to $120 for standard blood
glucose testing, and does not require
fasting or blood draws.
“As the device is non-invasive, rapid
and simple to use, we believe patients
will be motivated to undergo regular
screening,” he said. “Essentially, the
patient just sits in front of the instrument,
the device is focused in on the eye,
a specialized photograph is taken,
and results are immediately available.”


If the RMA screening detects metabolic
changes, patients would undergo
further testing to determine a definite
link to diabetes and could take early
steps to manage the disease and
prevent further complications.



For more information, visit the
OcuSciences Web site.


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