Vitamin C Against Diabetic Retinopathy

Filed in archive Diet , Research , Treatment on June 27, 2007

You probably already know the very common eye condition brought about by diabetes - diabetic retinopathy - caused by the swelling and leaking of blood vessels or the growth of abnormal new blood vessels on the surface of the retina, which could eventually leave patients blind.

A new animal study found that long-term supplementation of Vitamin C could later prevent diabetic retinopathy.

Vitamin C is one of the most common Vitamin in supplement/drug form that is widely commercially available. An antioxidant - it helps build our immune system and prevent us from common flu and colds-causing viruses, which could also be found naturally in most sour, citrusy fruits.

But the question really is, do we take-in vitamin C supplements (or eat more Vitamin C-rich foods) for a long time on a regular basis? I don't too. Sporadically only: when I somehow feel that I will catch cold soon or when its flu season. But we should really, because Vitamin C is one of those vitamins that the human body doesn't make on its own and so must be supplied but get depleted from the body very quickly because it is also water-soluble.

Going back to the mice study of Vitamin C and diabetic retinopathy, according to lead author Amporn Jariyapongskul from Srinakharinvirot University in Bangkok:

"Vitamin supplementation suppressed leukocyte adhesion and thus endothelial dysfunction, associated with increase in iris blood flow perfusion in diabetes. The antioxidant vitamin C may be a therapeutic agent for preventing diabetic retinopathy."

While the results are still preliminary to draw conclusions from (after all, the findings have to tested on humans first, right?), I guess it wouldn't hurt to remind ourselves to pop some Vitamin Cs even if we aren't diabetic.

Findings have been published in the journal Microvascular Research.

Find more details of the study findings from the full report.