According to a major new diabetes trial, angiotensin receptor blockers could lower the risk of retinopathy amongst patients with diabetes . The DIRECT study indicated that prescribing candesartan to people with diabetes could lower the incidence and progression of retinopathy.
Diabetic retinopathy is one of the complications of diabetes, a set of healthcare problems that develop over time when blood glucose levels fluctuate. Treating type 1 diabetics with candesartan at an early stage could help to avoid retinopathy. The medication was also found to be effective in people with type 2 diabetes .
Professor of clinical epidemiology at Imperial College London, Nish Chaturverdi, was reported as commenting: “This trial does provide GPs – and prescribing advisors – with evidence that candesarta, in addition to its other benefits, can reduce the incidence of diabetic retinopathy and slow its progression and development. This offsets the future costs of diabetic complications.”

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