Asthma drug can inhibit changes in the early stages of diabetic retinopathy

In a study published July 26 online in the newspaper Diabetes, a physician-researcher at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital and University of Medicine's Case Western Reserve University, discovered that montelukast, an asthma drug, could inhibit early changes in retinopathy. diabetic, an eye disease that develops as a result of diabetes. mouse model of type 1 diabetes.

We found that montelukast (Singulair) was able to disrupt the signaling of inflammatory molecules called leukotrienes. This disturbance has significantly reduced the damage to small blood vessels and nerves that we observe in the early stages of diabetic retinopathy.

While most treatments target the advanced stages of diabetes eye disease, these findings provide a much needed approach to treating the disease much earlier. "

Lead author Rose Gubitosi-Klug, MD, Ph.D., Head of the Department of Pediatric Endocrinology at UH Rainbow and Professor William T. Dahms of Pediatrics at the CWRU School of Medicine

"While most treatments target the advanced stages of diabetes-related eye disease, these findings offer a much-needed approach to treating the disease much earlier."

"The reuse of a drug already approved by the FDA for use in children and adolescents paves the way for the rapid translation of the results of these animal models into human subjects," said Dr. Gubitosi-Klug. "The daily dose equivalent used in this study is similar to the once-a-day dose used in the treatment of asthma." Rebaduringly, in our model of diabetes as in the studies of asthma, this dose allows a effective suppression of chronic inflammation, which can prevent pathology, but avoids the complete inhibition of inflammation, which may compromise innate immunity ".

"In addition, montelukast has proven effective in both prevention and delayed intervention approaches, which is of interest to patients with newly diagnosed diabetes as well as to people living with long-term diabetes, "she said. "Thus, it is promising that a safe treatment that effectively stabilizes the airways in asthma can also preserve small blood vessels and nerve cells in diabetes."