Diabetic retinopathy is a common complication of people living with Diabetes Melkite’s type 1 and 2 and is the leading cause of vision loss in working age adults.
Increased risk related to dyslipidaemia :
Studies have shown that elevated levels of total cholesterol ,triglycerides and LDL cholesterol Double the risk of retinal hard exudate and macular oedema compared to those with normal levels. Treatment with statins , which addresses the dyslipidaemia through reduction of LDL , does not appear to significantly alter the course of diabetic retinopathy.
Alternatively, FENOFIBRATE, which is a PPAR alpha agonist reduces triglycerides in addition to LDL and increases HDL, has been shown in two large randomised clinical trials to have a beneficial effect on reducing the progression of diabetic retinopathy.
The FIELD study was a randomised placebo controlled trial investigating the effect of fe of irate 200mg/d on micro and macro vascular complications in 9795 adult patients with DM type 2 . The rate of first laser treatments for diabetic retinopathy was significantly reduced in patients in the fenofibrate group compared to the control group over an average of five years after 5 years.
