LVPEI study explores gut microbiome link to diabetic eye disease detection

Researchers at Hyderabad’s LVPEI have identified distinct gut microbiome patterns linked to diabetic retinopathy, raising the possibility of detecting the eye disease through stool samples. The findings could pave the way for earlier, non-invasive screening and intervention for high-risk patients.

Hyderabad: There is a possibility that in the coming few years, a stool sample could be enough to find out whether a patient has diabetic eye disease, also known as Diabetic Retinopathy (DR).
Laying the groundwork for such a breakthrough, eye doctors from the Hyderabad-based L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) are exploring the possibility that the key to saving our eyesight lies not in our blood, but in our gut.

If the ongoing LVPEI research continues to show promise, the next time you visit your eye specialist, a routine screening might look quite different, as now the doctor might also collect your stool samples, apart from looking into your eyes.

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A major challenge with diabetic eye disease is that it is a silent thief, because most of the time, its symptoms are detected very late. And when it gets detected the high blood sugar levels already damage blood vessels in the retina.

Researchers have long known that an imbalanced gut-microbiome can trigger issues like obesity and heart disease.

A multi-centre effort titled DRMS-India group led by city-based LVPEI, are now investigating whether gut microbiome imbalance among diabetics is causing eye damage.
In a recent study published in Gut Pathogens, the team analyzed stool samples from 100 participants across India and findings revealed a striking ‘microbial signature’.

Patients with diabetic retinopathy had a distinct, more diverse gut microbiome compared to both healthy individuals and those with diabetes who did not have eye complications.

Such microbial patterns could provide a non-invasive diagnostic tool to screen for high-risk patients.

Across diverse geographies and metabolic states, microbial patterns reveal a unique signature of diabetic retinopathy. For patients, this could eventually mean a shift from reactive care to proactive, early intervention, senior ophthalmologists from LVPEI, Dr. Taraprasad Das and Dr Brijesh Takkar along with others, in the study noted.

• Diabetic eye disease may soon be detectable through simple stool samples.
• Gut microbiome of diabetics with eye complications differs significantly from healthy individuals.
• Patients with diabetic retinopathy show a higher number of microbial species in the gut.
• The bacterium Segatella copri is more abundant in healthy individuals than in those with retinopathy.
• Study is a major multi-centre effort involving 500 participants across 17 locations in India.