Exciting news from UCL scientists, who have identified a key protein that triggers diabetic retinopathy, a leading cause of blindness among working-age adults. The breakthrough could shift treatment from managing late-stage damage to preventing vision loss altogether.
Senya Therapeutics co-founders Prof. John Greenwood and Prof. Stephen Moss together with a team at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology discovered that the protein LRG1 plays a critical role in the early damage to retinal blood vessels in diabetic retinopathy. By targeting this protein, researchers were able to prevent damage in mouse models, offering a promising therapeutic target to protect vision before irreversible harm occurs.
Diabetic retinopathy, affecting both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes patients, is often diagnosed too late—after vision impairment has already set in. Current treatments work for only half of patients and rarely reverse existing damage. But LRG1-targeting drugs, currently undergoing pre-clinical trials, could change the game.
This research, supported by Diabetes UK, Moorfields Eye Charity, and Wellcome, could save millions of lives by preventing vision loss in people living with diabetes worldwide. With clinical trials on the horizon, we are closer than ever to a solution that could revolutionise diabetic eye care.
Huge congratulations to the UCL team, and special thanks to Senya Therapeutics, the UCL spinout driving this innovation forward.
Diabetes UK has more here.
Full press release here.
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