A $3.3 million study at the University of Houston College of Optometry will track the health of patients with prediabetes and diabetes to find out who might develop eye problems and be at risk for future vision loss. The study is being led by Wendy Harrison, associate professor, and is underwritten by the National Eye Institute.
Vision loss in type 2 diabetes results from diabetic retinopathy, caused by damage to blood vessels in the retina, the light-sensitive layer of tissue in the back of your eye. The disease can appear without warning.
Although patients with prediabetes are known to have impaired fasting glucose, impaired glucose tolerance, and elevated hemoglobin A1c, there is still a significant gap in understanding how and when prediabetes impacts eye health.
Harrison’s team will study both the front and the back of the eye and different types of glucose dysfunction. To explore how glucose dysregulation affects the vascular and neural retina, cornea, and tear film, the team will investigate whether tests like fat distribution, activity levels, and oral glucose tolerance in type 2 diabetes patients are linked to or can predict ocular health.