Fighting Diabetes-Related Vision Loss

Mike Sapieha, Director of the Neurovascular Eye Disease Research Unit, HMR

Portrait of visionary doctor Mike Sapieha

Losing your eyesight following an illness is a heavy price to pay. This happens to people suffering from diabetes for whom vision loss is a frequent complication.

According to Mike Sapieha’s research, “diabetic retinopathy”, in particular, is caused by accelerated aging of the cells of the retina. This eye disease can lead to blindness. It is one of the principal causes of vision loss in adults.

Thanks to a $63,000 donation, Mike Sapieha, Ph.D. in neuroscience and Director of the Neurovascular Eye Disease Research Unit at the HMR, was able to pursue his work on a new medication to eliminate damaged cells in the eye. This new drug enables the retina to regenerate itself and helps patients recover their eyesight.

A world leader in vision health, Dr. Sapieha was awarded the 2019 Cogan Award from the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, the largest eye and vision research organization in the world. In fact, it is his promising research that made him stand out and become the first from Québec and only the second Canadian to receive this award.

By developing this new drug at the HMR, Dr. Sapieha wishes to help diabetic patients here and abroad recover their eyesight and enable them to envision a better future.

Learn more about Dr. Sapieha

˃ Lorsqu’une montagne accouche d’une molécule, Radio-Canada, 21 février 2020 (in French)

˃ D^r Mike Sapieha, rétinologue, Radio-Canada, Découverte, 23 février 2020 (in French)