His Excellency the Honourable David Hurley, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia (centre) with the six funding recipients
There is new hope for people living with a form of macular disease known as diabetic macular ischaemia, thanks to an innovative research project led by Professor Chandra Balaratnasingam from the Lions Eye Institute.
Diabetes is one of the most common causes of blindness in Australia. The prevalence of diabetes is projected to increase over the next three decades. Diabetic macular ischaemia (DMI) is a significant cause of irreversible and severe vision loss in people with diabetes. The disease is characterised by loss of blood vessels that are critical to supplying nutrients and removing wastes in the macula. There is currently no treatment for DMI, in part due to a limited understanding of changes within the retinal cells that contribute to the disease.
Professor Chandra Balaratnasingam
Professor Balaratnasingam is one of only six recipients of the latest round of funding from the Macular Disease Foundation Australia, Australia’s largest source of non-government research funding in the field of macular disease. Recipients were announced at an event hosted by His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Retd), Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia.
Over the next two years, Professor Balaratnasingam’s research will use donor tissue from patients with diabetes to investigate cellular changes that occur in DMI. Findings from his research will greatly expand our understanding of how the disease progresses, in particular how cells interact with their surrounding environment in both healthy and diseased retinal tissue.
It is hoped the findings will also lead to the development of new drugs to treat DMI, greatly improving the quality of life in people with diabetes.
Thank you to the Macular Disease Foundation Australia for your support of and commitment to macular disease research.
