New drug shows promise in diabetic retinopathy

Article

A pain relief drug (+)-pentazocine has been shown to restore retinal health in diabetic mice. It is now hoped that this action can be replicated in humans.

A pain relief drug (+)-pentazocine has been shown to restore retinal health in diabetic mice. It is now hoped that this action can be replicated in humans.

Drs Sylvia Smith and Alan Saul from Medical College of Georgia, USA, performed the original research on the eyes of mice and now they want to know if the drug has the potential to block the damage caused to the eye by diabetes.

Within the early stages of diabetes in mice the researchers found that the drug appeared to interrupt the first wave of cell destruction using the drug (+)-pentazocine. This drug is generally known for its pain relieving power but it also seems to work by reducing cell stress, which the researchers believe is key to the eye damage caused by diabetes. The researchers have evidence that oxidative stress increases the level that sigma receptors bind to BiP, a stress protein, and sigma receptors are believed to help cells manage stress.

"We know (+)-pentazocine binds to sigma receptors, but one of the things we don't know is if the binding blocks or promotes sigma receptor action," Dr Smith emphasized. In collaboration with Dr Eric Zorilla at the Scripps Research Institute in California, Dr Smith now has mice with sigma receptors deleted that will allow her to better determine their role and how the drug intervenes.

A new $1.5 million grant from the National Eye Institute will allow the scientists to test their theories and fully determine the way in which the drug works.

Newsletter

Join ophthalmologists across Europe—sign up for exclusive updates and innovations in surgical techniques and clinical care.

Recent Videos
Christine Curcio, PhD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine, shares histology update and revised nomenclature for OCT with Sheryl Stevenson of the Eye Care Network and Ophthalmology Times
SriniVas R. Sadda, MD, FARVO, shares key points from his retina presentation at the International SPECTRALIS Symposium
Robert Sergott, MD, describes fluorescence lifetime imaging ophthalmoscopy (FLIO) and the International SPECTRALIS Symposium – And Beyond (ISS) in Heidelberg, Germany.
Rayaz Malik, MBChB, PhD, a professor of medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine - Qatar, spoke with Ophthalmology Times Europe about his presentation. It's titled "An eye on neurodegenerative diseases: Challenging the dogma" at the International SPECTRALIS Sympsoium. In conversation with Hattie Hayes, Ophthalmology Times Europe
Anat Loewenstein, MD, describes her presentation on remote imaging for age-related macular degeneration and geographic atrophy at the International SPECTRALIS Symposium, in conversation with Hattie Hayes of Ophthalmology Times Europe
Tyson Brunstetter, OD, PhD, a US Navy Aerospace Optometrist at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, shares key takeaways from his keynote at the International SPECTRALIS Symposium (ISS)
Rayaz Malik, MBChB, PhD, shares his presentation, titled An eye on neurodegenerative diseases: Challenging the dogma, at this year's International SPECTRALIS Symposium
At the Retina World Congress, Siegfried Priglinger, MD, speaks about ensuring the best outcomes for preschool-aged patients
At the 2025 ASCRS meeting, Robert Ang, MD said small aperture IOLs can benefit all patients, especially those with complex corneas or who have undergone previous corneal refractive surgery
Viha Vig, MBChB graduate student at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, discusses her poster presentation on the relationship between mitochondiral disease, Alzheimer disease, and other types of dementia.
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences

All rights reserved.