A vitamin A analog may help treat diabetic retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy is a common complication of diabetes and a leading cause of blindness among the working-age population. A new study reports that visual function in diabetic mice was significantly improved after treatment with a single dose of visual chromophore 9-cis-retinal, a vitamin A analog that can form a visual pigment in the retina cells, thereby producing a light sensitive element of the retina.