Lucia Sobrin, MD, MPH
occupation
Retina Specialist,
Massachusetts Eye and
Ear Infirmary
focus
Ocular Epidemiology
ada Research funding
Clinical Translational
Award
Eye on the Retina
Do certain genes make vision loss more likely? BY ANDREW CURRY
the RetIna MIGht well be your body’s
most vital .07 square inches. A thin layer of
cells just one-hundredth of an inch thick, the
retina is literally the film in your eye’s camera.
Sitting at the back of your eyeball, it contains
millions of nerves responsible for capturing
light and sending signals to the brain.
Any damage to that fragile tissue, and your
vision can be impaired or disappear entirely.
When it comes to eye damage, diabetes is one
of the worst culprits. The tiny blood vessels
that feed the retina are particularly sensitive
to harm. “The most sight-threatening
70 august 2012 Diabetes Forecast
complication of diabetes is diabetic
retinopathy,” says Lucia Sobrin, MD, MPH, an
eye specialist at the Massachusetts Eye and
Ear Infirmary in Boston. “It damages blood
vessels slowly, in the same way it damages
blood vessels in the kidney and heart. There’s
a lack of blood flow, and abnormal growth
[of blood vessels] and bleeding in the eye.”
In fact, diabetic retinopathy is the No. 1
cause of irreversible vision loss in people
20 to 65. It’s possible to slow it, and
