Curbing Vision Loss and Eye Disease

In its various manifestations, ocular vaso-proliferative diseases such as proliferative diabetic retinopathy and neovascular age-related macular degeneration, account for the most common causes of vision loss in the industrial world. It is currently estimated that over 1 million Canadians suffer from various forms of age-related macular degeneration and 500,000 are afflicted by diabetic retinopathy. The incidence of both conditions is expected to double over the next 15 years, resulting in billions of dollars in medical costs and significant losses of productivity. 

Dr. Przemyslaw (Mike) Sapieha, Canada Research Chair in Retinal Cell Biology, is investigating these and other common causes of vision loss in the industrial world. He is exploring how and why, in several eye diseases, blood vessels degenerate and subsequently try to compensate by creating new blood vessels in a disorganized fashion.

Sapieha is also focusing on increasing understanding of why in these blinding diseases, blood vessels fail to regenerate in one area of the affected retina yet invade other areas which are devoid of vasculature in healthy individuals.

Sapieha’s work will ultimately lead to the development of new treatment strategies that will improve the ability of the body to regenerate blood vessels to tackle prominent causes of vision loss.