A study published in the March edition of the journal Diabetologia found that statins prevent free radicals in the retina from killing nerves important to maintaining vision. Lead author Azza El-Remessy, assistant professor in the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy, and her colleagues conducted the study in diabetic rats.

     "The exciting part is that there are now treatment options that are proven to be safe that can be immediately translated to patients," said El-Remessy.

     Uncontrolled diabetes and excessive glucose induces free radicals, which causes the eye to release a protein called pro-nerve growth factor, which normally matures into nerve growth factor (NGF) to protect the retinal nerves, explained El-Remessy. The free radicals that are generated by diabetes stop the maturation of proNGF into NGF, however, which leads to impaired neuronal function.

     Using diabetic rats and isolated retinal cells cultured in high glucose, El-Remessy and colleagues found that oral treatment with the drug atorvastatin blocked the formation of free radicals in the retina, which restored proper levels of nerve growth factor and preserved neurons in the retina. "It removed the break on the pro-form nerve growth factor to develop into its mature form," she said. The drug was orally administered to rats in doses proportional to levels given to human patients with cardiovascular problems.