Eyeballs! They can offer an amazing peek into a body's health.
Now, Australian scientists have found they can even be used to
predict a person's risk of diabetes.
Researchers at the Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA), in
Melbourne, have mapped abnormalities known to occur at the rear of
the eye to identify those which raise a red flag for type 1 and 2
diabetes.
While past research has shown these retina abnormalities can be
used to predict cardiovascular disease, CERA's work was the first
to find those changes specifically linked to a person's diabetes
risk.
PhD student Dr Tan Nguyen predicts that in the future, doctors will
use retinal scans to identify diabetes and coronary heart disease
years before a patient's symptoms can be detected using traditional
diagnostic techniques, such as an angiogram.
"If we can detect retinal changes prior to the development of a
disease. We can forewarn patients of the likelihood they will
develop diabetes and cardiovascular disease," Nguyen said.
"Armed with this knowledge, we hope that high risk patients will
modify lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise to help prevent
development of diseases such as diabetes."
Researchers recruited 200 people with diabetes and more than 100
people without diabetes to participate in the study.
Dr Nguyen used video imaging technology to monitor the way their
eyes responded to flashes of light.
"When healthy patients were exposed to the light flashes, the blood
vessels in their retina became dilated but in diabetic patients,
there was a significant reduction in blood vessel dilation in
response to the light stimulus," Nguyen said.
"Our results also indicate that a reduced response to light
stimulus could be a marker of endothelial dysfunction - the
build-up of fatty materials on the artery walls that can lead to
heart disease and stroke".
Diabetes is a major epidemic in Australia, affecting about 1.7
million people or about eight per cent of the population.
It is estimated about 275 Australians newly develop the condition
every day.
CERA conducts research into the leading causes of vision
loss.
It incorporates the Department of Ophthalmology at the University
of Melbourne and is located at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear
Hospital.
Eyes can predict diabetes risk
Published: 1:13PM Wednesday November 18, 2009 Source: AAP
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