My cousin has had diabetes for almost 20 years, is losing her eyesight, and now is almost blind. Could you please tell me if there is effective treatment to get her eyesight back? She is now living in China.

With the information you have given only some comments can be made. First, it is very thoughtful of you to inquire on your cousin’s behalf. Secondly, diabetes is a blinding disease and once damage has occurred to the retina it cannot be repaired. The key is prevention, and because diabetes has a genetic link, other family members should learn from this unfortunate incident, know the risk factors for diabetes, and have appropriate medical and eye evaluations.

Your cousin needs to be under the care of an eye specialist. I am assuming she is and has had all the surgical and/or medical treatments to minimize the progression of diabetic eye disease. Although her diabetic eye disease is advanced, she must still work at blood sugar and blood pressure control. To assess what useful vision she has and if enhancement of that vision can be achieved by optical or other means,she should be evaluated by a low vision specialist. A low vision specialist goes beyond the testing for eyeglasses. Prescribed magnifiers or video systems may be of help to her.

CAG