Engraftment of Vertex Pharmaceutical s VX-880 stem cell–derived islets has now been achieved in six patients, two of whom are insulin-independent at 1 year.
However, the presence of diabetic retinopathy was observed to have no significant impact on physical health and quality of life compared to subjects without retinopathy.
After adjusting for potential confounding factors, patients with microvascular diseases, particularly diabetic retinopathy, and diabetic kidney disease, were found to have a greater possibility of left ventricular hypertrophy.
An analysis of 3 academic health centers suggests youth with diabetic retinopathy had a longer duration of diabetes and higher hemoglobin A1c at the time of the diabetic eye exam.