Vitamin C & Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy occurs when damaged retinal blood vessels leak causing blurred vision.

A recent study investigated the long-term effects of supplementation of vitamin C on diabetic rats. There were three groups, a control group, a group of rats with diabetes, and a group of rats with diabetes given vitamin C supplementation.

Researchers found that when supplemented with vitamin C, rats developed less diabetic retinopathy. Therefore, if these results can be reproduced in humans, “antioxidant vitamin C may be a therapeutic agent for preventing diabetic retinopathy.”

A. Jariyapongskul, T. Rungjaroen, N. Kasetsuwan, S. Patumraj, J. Seki and H. Niimi. “Long-term effects of oral vitamin C supplementation on the endothelial dysfunction in the iris microvessels of diabetic rats.” Microvascular Research. July 2007, Volume 74, Issue 1, Pages 32-38.