Blood fats and diabetic eye disease
Official title: Dyslipidemia and Diabetic Retinopathy
Funded at University of Oklahoma Hlth Sciences Ctr · NIH-11172544 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how changes in certain fats in the blood and retina may cause or worsen diabetic retinopathy and whether targeting those fat pathways could help protect vision for people with diabetes.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Oklahoma Hlth Sciences Ctr NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Oklahoma City, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2005 |
| Project end | June 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $390,876 |
| NIH project number | 5R01EY016077-17 |
| Project ID | NIH-11172544 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates would be people with diabetes who have early or progressive diabetic retinopathy or macular edema, especially those who do not fully respond to anti‑VEGF injections.
✕Less likely to help
People with fully irreversible retinal scarring or those without diabetic eye disease are unlikely to benefit directly from this work.
What this research studies
From a patient's point of view, the researchers are studying how a shift in specific lipid molecules called ceramides can make the diabetic retina inflamed and leaky. They focus on enzymes that make short-chain versus very-long-chain ceramides (for example, acid sphingomyelinase and ELOVL4) to understand how this balance affects retinal cell survival and the blood-retinal barrier. The team uses laboratory models, including animal models and retinal tissue, to trace these pathways and to test whether modifying them can prevent retinal damage. Their aim is to find new treatment targets earlier in the disease process than current anti-VEGF injections.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to new therapies that protect retinal cells and slow or prevent vision loss in people with diabetic retinopathy.
How similar studies have gone: Anti‑VEGF treatments work for many patients but leave a large nonresponder group, and targeting sphingolipid pathways is a newer approach with encouraging preclinical results but limited clinical data so far.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Oklahoma Hlth Sciences Ctr
Oklahoma City, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Busik, Julia V — University of Oklahoma Hlth Sciences Ctr
- Study coordinator: Busik, Julia V
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.