The top two causes of vision loss in this country are diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma. Researchers from the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) School of Medicine recently published results of a study in mice that show the pain-relieving drug pentazocin may be able to prevent the retinal damage associated with these conditions ... preserving vision.1
The study appears in this month's issue of Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.2
Diabetic mice received injections of pentazocine (a morphine-like narcotic) for 22 weeks. The photo shows strikingly preserved retinas in mice that received the drug compared to mice that did not. (Click photo for larger version.)
The drug had no effect on insulin levels. Dr. Sylvia Smith, the study's lead author and co-director of the Vision Discover Institute at MCG:
"It does not solve that problem of diabetes; however our findings do suggest that just because you are hyperglycemic does not mean you will have diabetic retinopathy."
1 Receptor Activation Protects Retina From Diabetes Destruction
2 In Vivo Protection Against Retinal Neurodegeneration By Sigma Receptor 1 Ligand (+)-Pentazocin
